Elephants Deserve Love Too
by TheGirlWhoRemembers
Summary: Soulmate-identifying marks/high school AU. The day Hazel met her soulmate, she certainly wasn't expecting to. Nor did she expect him to be three years older or to end up having his friends as some of her first friends in the town of Olympus. (But she'd never really considered the possibility of him being lactose intolerant.)
1. Chapter 1

AN: Yes, this is my new story. Yes, the title is weird, but may make more sense when you read the whole story. (Yes, it is finished, updates will be weekly on Saturdays.)

This story has nothing to do with _In the Stables _or _Strings of Fate. _Some parts are lifted from or adapted from the works of Rick Riordan, obviously, those parts aren't my work.

The main thing I'm going for is trying to have a sense of realism in the relationships, despite this world having soulmate-identifying marks. It'd be great if you could give me some feedback on that!

* * *

Hazel Levesque stepped into Olympus High School's main building, a black backpack on her back and her arms full of books.

Hefting the backpack more securely onto her shoulders, she glanced around, hoping that her brother Nico was somewhere in sight.

No such luck.

(It would be terribly out of character for him, to be someplace so visible and public, so she wasn't _really_ expecting him to be there.)

She would have to go further into the school.

She didn't really like that idea. She already felt very out of place, like she didn't belong.

And she didn't.

Hazel was thirteen years old and in the 8th grade. She attended Olympus Middle School, just across the road.

Her brother (well, half-brother) Nico di Angelo was a year older and in the 9th grade. _He_ was the one who attended Olympus High.

He was also the one who had forgotten (or neglected, more likely) to bring his school books, stationery, lunch, phone and keys.

Although, she thought, remembering the argument between Nico and their father Hades (yes, his name really was Hades) that morning, she didn't blame him.

Neither she nor Nico had a terribly good relationship with their father, to say the least.

Nico had been much closer to his mother, Maria, and his sister, Bianca, now both deceased (don't ask for the story).

Hazel was the product of an affair between their father and her now-also-deceased (don't ask for that story either) mother, Marie Levesque.

Hades had married Maria and had two children with her, and then he'd gone down to New Orleans on business, met Marie, and along came Hazel.

He'd ultimately chosen Maria and their family, leaving Hazel and her mother. Safe to say, that had resulted in a significant amount of resentment towards him, on the part of both of the siblings. (Never each other. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't her fault. It was Hades' fault, if anyone.)

It was probably a little ridiculous that this whole fiasco could occur in a world where people had soulmate-identifying marks that spontaneously appeared when they met their soulmate.

But, as everyone, including Hazel, knew (after all, the marks had been around _forever_), soulmate relationships were no easier than all other close relationships. In fact, they might even be harder. They were not immune to the problems that other relationships faced. Some might say that they had it even worse.

(Just look at Hades and Maria di Angelo.)

Hazel sighed as she walked through the hallways, past a set of lockers. There was no point dwelling on it. She had to find Nico. (She had to try and let go of the past, as hard as that was.)

She was so busy searching for him that she didn't watch where she was going.

She walked into a strong, large, athletic boy. He looked to be a Junior at least, maybe a Senior. He was built like a football player.

He also didn't look very happy with her.

Neither did his friends.

'Watch where you're going, shrimp!'

Hazel's heart skipped a beat fearfully. But she fought to prevent it showing on her face, and stood up to her full (not very significant) height.

'I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention and bumped into you. But it _was_ just an accident, and no harm was done.'

'Oh, really, and how would you know that, shrimp?'

(Well, she thought, it _was_ kind of obvious. Like a little slip of a girl like her could do much harm to him anyway. Some darker thoughts entered her mind, something from the past, but she pushed them back down.)

'What're you doing here anyway, shrimp?'

Hazel stood firm.

'I'm looking for my brother.' She indicated the books and the backpack.

'Oh, your big brother, eh? Well, little girl, this is a _big _and _scary _school, no place for a shrimp like you. Why don't we take these off your hands? We'll make sure your brother gets them, won't we, boys?'

He and his cronies descended on her.

'Stop that! Give those back to me! Stop!'

Yet, despite her best attempts, they successfully seized Nico's things.

Hazel took a deep breath.

(She would not cry. She would not. And she didn't.)

She heard a voice behind her. A male voice.

'Give those back, Dylan. They don't belong to you.'

She turned.

A bulky Chinese boy, who appeared to be about 15 or 16 (or maybe even 14, she thought, looking at his baby face), stood behind her. He was somewhere between chubby and muscular, and bore a resemblance to a teddy bear with muscles. (Or, she thought, he probably would if he had a softer expression on his face than he did right now.) He was also rather handsome, and he was standing up for her...Hazel quickly pushed those thoughts away. Now was _definitely _not the time. (Curse you, puberty and hormones.)

Dylan scowled.

'Fine, have it your way, Zhang.'

He and his gang tossed Nico's things onto the floor and sauntered off.

Hazel's saviour let out a breath that he'd apparently been holding.

'Oh, thank the gods they're cowards...if they hadn't walked away...if he'd said _or what_...I don't know what I'd do...'

He knelt down and started gathering up Nico's things, and handed them to her.

They locked eyes. Hazel smiled at him.

'Thanks. That was very brave of you...um...'

He blushed and looked down.

'Umm...Frank...Frank Zhang.'

Looking at him, her heart started trying to tap dance. (Or at least that's what it felt like.) Her face grew warm, and strangely, so did the region around her heart.

'I'm Hazel, Hazel Levesque.'

He smiled.

'It's nice to meet you, Hazel.'

Her smile grew wider.

'It's nice to meet you too, Frank.'


	2. Chapter 2

AN: A little self-cross-promotion- my other current PJO/HOO story, _Strings of Fate, _is now up to five chapters, the latest being Hollywood!AU. The next update on that story will be Rom-Com!AU, just in time for Valentine's Day. That update will occur on Wednesday.

* * *

Frank stopped as he walked past the ice-cream store on the way home from school.

He _really_ wanted an ice-cream.

Yeah, never mind that he was lactose intolerant.

He seriously needed ice-cream today.

It'd been a long, long day. Sophomore year was much tougher than Freshman year, class-wise anyway, that was for sure. And he'd been at school really, really early for archery training, and then there was that whole incident with Dylan, and meeting Hazel...

Frank was normally a non-violent, non-confrontational sort of guy.

(Odd, apparently, for a linebacker, and a soldier's son, but that was just the way he was.)

But when he'd seen the burly Junior (and football player, much to his displeasure) and his friends taking stuff from a tiny (at least compared to him, and Dylan) girl with really nice cinnamon-toast-coloured curls, he'd had this immense, urgent need to protect her, and before he'd really known what he was doing...

Then she'd smiled at him, and thanked him, and told him he was brave with what he thought might just be admiration in her eyes...She had gold eyes, and she was really, really beautiful ...and she hadn't laughed at him or looked scathingly at him when he'd tripped over a textbook someone had carelessly left on the floor, and he'd enjoyed making small talk with her as he'd accompanied her in her search for her brother...

(He couldn't possibly have let her wander the halls alone, especially not with the Dylan incident, so he'd escorted her around the school until she'd found her brother, who turned out to be Nico di Angelo. He'd never have guessed that, they didn't seem anything alike; sure, Nico seemed like an okay guy, and unlike almost all of Olympus High, Frank didn't mind him, but he really couldn't see the resemblance.)

He stepped inside, through the open doorway of the ice-cream shop.

A few minutes later, digging into a bowl of double-chocolate-chip ice-cream, he felt much, much better.

(His digestive system would hate him for it later, but it was _ice-cream._)

He heard a certain (unfortunately familiar) voice, and froze.

'...Yeah, so then Zhang just comes up to me, and he's all like...I mean, what does he think he is? Some sort of knight-in-shining-armour?'

He glanced out the window.

Dylan was walking past, arm around a girl he recognised as Drew Tanaka, cheerleader, and one of the meanest girls in the school, surrounded by his cronies.

Frank's heart sank.

(Sure, he was kind of used to bullying. It'd gotten much better since he became friends with Jason, Percy and Leo when he'd started high school, started his growth spurt and made the football and hockey teams anyway. Still, it hurt.)

Then, he heard another familiar voice. This time, a welcome one. (Well, at least _friendly_, he didn't really want her interacting with Dylan or his cronies ever again.)

'I guess that'd make you the snivelling evil wizard, then. As I recall, you turned tail and ran, coward.'

Somehow, Frank didn't think that Dylan wanted to mention that part of the story to Drew, because he glared at Hazel, and he and his companions stalked off.

Hazel watched them go, and entered the store. She glanced around, her face fell, and then she noticed him, and perked up again. (That made his heart beat a little funny and his ego swell a little.)

She walked over.

'Hi, Frank. You haven't seen Nico by any chance, have you?'

He shook his head.

'Nope, sorry...though, I don't really think this is his sort of place, I mean...'

He trailed off, and immediately felt guilty. He'd kind of just insulted her brother, who seemed to mean a lot to her!

To his relief, she smiled and suppressed a giggle.

'Yeah, I know, it doesn't seem like him. But, he's well...had a rough day, and who doesn't love ice-cream?'

Frank smiled back at her.

'I could eat it all day...' He pouted. 'But I'm lactose intolerant.'

'Oh, that's awful! What a terrible curse you are afflicted with!'

He gave a half-laugh, and her eyes sparkled with sympathy and mirth.

'Well, it doesn't stop me from indulging. Every now and then anyway. My digestive system doesn't like it if...'

He trailed off. He highly doubted that she wanted to hear about his digestive difficulties. That was _not_ something one talked to beautiful girls about. Even Leo, who continually flirted, and continually failed (he was somehow convinced that every girl he met would be the one who caused his soulmate mark to appear, it might just take a little time, even if it was supposed to happen instantly) didn't do that.

He looked up at her. She was still smiling. Apparently, he hadn't completely screwed up.

'Anyway...thanks for what you did outside. For standing up for me. Against Dylan and his gang. That'd take a lot of guts, especially after this morning...'

She blushed.

'I couldn't let him say that stuff about you, Frank. You're really brave...' Her blush grew more intense. She fanned her face with her hand. 'And, for what it's worth, you were my knight in shining armour today.'

He went bright red. (Not even blushing pink, actual _bright red_. Like the Canadian flag.)

Completely flustered, he rubbed the back of his neck, as he fumbled for what to say.

'Oh...um...wow...thanks...Hazel.'

They stared at each other for a moment.

She gestured awkwardly towards the door.

'Well, I've got to go and find Nico. Bye, Frank.'

She waved at him, and still pink, he waved back.

He looked down at his now very-melted ice-cream, but found he didn't really care. He had something much more important, much nicer on his mind.

Hazel Levesque. Brave, bold, kind, sweet, strong, beautiful Hazel. Whom he wanted, more than ice-cream, more than_ anything_, to protect and impress and hold in his arms and maybe even kiss...He pushed those thoughts away. Bad Frank. Very, very bad Frank. That was inappropriate. He felt rather uncomfortable with himself. She was thirteen years old and in the 8th grade, for gods' sake! (Curse you, puberty and hormones.)

He felt his cheeks go warm _again. _

Which reminded him of a strange warmth he'd felt in over his heart this morning, kind of like a sort of branding, but without any of the pain, obviously...Could it be?

Eyes wide and excitement and nerves flowing through him, Frank dashed out of the ice-cream store.

He had to go home and check.

* * *

Hazel stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Her thoughts were elsewhere as she shucked off her clothes in preparation for her shower. They were preoccupied with her brother's fight with their father (it'd taken a long time, but she'd _finally _found him, though she'd been unable to persuade him to actually talk to the man- he was currently brooding in his room), and that brave, klutzy, kind, gentle, slightly silly, handsome football player who was lactose intolerant but loved ice-cream anyway (he was_ cute_ when he pouted) that she'd met that morning.

But her thoughts crashed back into the present time and place when she happened to glance at the mirror.

She had a mark on the left side of her chest, over her heart. A _soulmate _mark. About the size of a golf ball, it depicted a teddy bear holding a bow and arrow.

Her eyes widened.

It was completely obvious who her mark referred to. Completely obvious who her soulmate was.

Frank had mentioned that he enjoyed archery while he was escorting her around.

Besides, she'd only met a handful of new people today. (And there was absolutely no way Dylan or any of his cronies was her soulmate.)

She grinned. Her heart tried to tap dance again.

She was going back to Olympus High tomorrow after school, and she was going to find Frank. Her soulmate. Her heart did an extra-vigorous _kerthump_ at the thought.

She stepped quickly over to the door, wanting to share the news with Nico. (Though, her brother was very cynical about the whole soulmates thing and relationships in general, due to his experiences. Hazel was more optimistic. Besides, it was _Frank_. Even though she'd only known him for less than a day, it was as clear as day that he was very different from their father. She was sure Nico would come to see that too.)

Her hand on the doorknob, she realized her state of undress.

_Oops._

She reddened and fanned her face.

Perhaps taking a shower first was a good idea.

* * *

Frank grinned as he examined the mark over his heart. A dark-skinned young woman with cinnamon curls, mounted on a horse, appeared to be riding into his heart.

_And that she was._

(Yeah, cheesy, but she _did_ make him feel as if there was a horse running around in there.)

He wanted to tell _somebody_.

He'd found his soulmate! That was big news!

He, awkward, klutzy Frank Zhang, with the mismatched face and body, had found his soulmate, and she was beautiful and wonderful and everything he had ever hoped for and more.

But who to tell?

Leo?

No, as much as Leo was a very good friend of his, he didn't want to hear dirty jokes or flirting tips or terrible puns right now.

(In fact, he _never_ wanted to hear any of those, but friends of Leo's couldn't escape them.)

Jason?

If he remembered correctly, the Sophomore was currently at some kind of student government meeting. He was Sophomore Class President, after all.

Percy?

Probably doing gods know what with Annabeth. The last time he'd called during their _private time_...he found himself rather scarred. He _did not_ want to re-live that experience.

His grandmother?

Ugh...no. As much as he loved his grandmother, he didn't really want to talk about _this _with her. He could just imagine her reaction. _Zhang men do not gush, Fai._

No, the only person he could imagine talking to about Hazel right now was his mother.

But he couldn't, because she was currently deployed in Afghanistan.

He really, really missed her.

Frank sighed.

There was nothing he could do about it.

His mom was away doing her job and doing her duty. Doing the right thing, the important thing.

Besides, he too had a job to do right now anyway: Calculus homework.

He didn't want to do it. He hated Calculus; the humanities were far more up his alley. Besides, at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to have his mum back and to see Hazel.

He took a deep breath.

No, he had to do Calculus homework. Besides, he didn't know where she lived, and he was not about to do some serious stalking to find out. That would probably make her think he was some kind of creep. And he really didn't want that.

He'd go find her after school tomorrow. (He had hockey in the morning.)

_She's not going to disappear overnight._

* * *

_AN: Yes, in this universe, the people/the gods who determine soulmate marks have a stupid sense of humour. If interested in the soulmate marks for the other characters, either ask in a review or PM me, I'll be happy to answer. _


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Very short chapter, I'm afraid. If you want more Frazel (or any other canon couples to be honest, check out the latest chapter of my other multi-chapter PJO/HOO story, _Strings of Fate _or my one-shot, _The Realm of Hypnos.)_

Next chapter we actually meet Frank's friends!

* * *

Unfortunately, Frank had forgotten that he had promised to help Gwen and Dakota film a video they were making to raise money to save the local zoo's elephant, Hannibal, after school. He had also forgotten that after that, he had an extra football training session. (Coach Hedge was absolutely nuts. The archery coach, Coach Apollo and the hockey coach, Coach Blofis, who was also his English teacher, pretty much never called extra training sessions.)

He didn't remember until halfway through second period.

_Dang it. _

He couldn't go find Hazel today.

He had no idea where to find her except outside Olympus Middle School, or possibly at or near the ice-cream store, but that was a long shot. (He had no idea whether she frequented the place, or whether she only went there in hopes of finding her brother.)

And he would have to wait all weekend, because today was Friday.

It was not shaping up to be a good day.

* * *

That afternoon, after filming that video with Dakota and Gwen, Frank stood next to his locker, struggling out of his elephant costume.

(He'd be late for practice if he didn't hurry up.)

Luckily, the school was empty, since everyone had already gone home. Most of the high schoolers left quickly, in order to avoid the middle schoolers, who for some reason, started and finished half an hour later.

'Frank?'

He heard a voice behind him.

_Oh, gods, not now, please..._

Elephant ears still on his head, he turned to face Hazel, redness creeping up his cheeks.

'Oh, hi, Hazel! It's lovely to see you!'

His voice came out higher than usual.

_Dang it!_

She smiled.

'It's lovely to see you too...May I ask, what's with the outfit?'

She was staring quizzically at him, and frankly, he didn't blame her if she never wanted to see him again, soulmate or not. Who wanted to date a guy who was a part-time pachyderm?

'Oh...well...you see, Hannibal the elephant, at the zoo, is suffering really badly due to a chronic case of indigestion, due to peanut intolerance, so Dakota and Gwen, who are Seniors here, decided to make a video to raise money for his healthcare, and they, well, sort of roped me into it, so here I am...'

She frowned. A dimple appeared on her chin, and oh, gods, she was cute when she was frowning too. He was a goner.

_Please don't run off. I know I'm completely not-smooth and dressed as an elephant and...but please don't run off..._

'Oh, poor Hannibal! I had no idea that elephants could get peanut indigestion.'

He let out a breath he didn't quite realize he'd been holding.

'Yeah, you and me both.'

They stood there somewhat awkwardly again.

And then they both spoke at the same time.

'So...I gather that last night you noticed um...'

'I think we're...'

Then, again at the same time:

'Oh, I'm really sorry, you first.'

They both burned even redder. Hazel giggled. Frank smiled sheepishly.

'So you know...'

'Yeah, that we're...'

He took a deep breath.

'So, um, Hazel, would you like to go to the zoo tomorrow? With me?' He mentally facepalmed. _The zoo, really, Zhang? The zoo? _'You know, just to see how Hannibal's going...' _Sure, just dig yourself a deeper hole. The one time in your life that you really, really needed to be smooth..._

She smiled up at him, her gold eyes shining. It was one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. (Yes, he was sappy, at least in his own mind, dang it.)

'I'm looking forward to it. I'll meet you there, tomorrow, ten o' clock, then?'

He nodded numbly.

Then, something happened that turned his whole day around, 180 degrees.

She stretched up, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

'You make a very handsome elephant, Frank.'

'ZHANG! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON AND GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE!'

Coach Hedge's voice, magnified by a megaphone (not that he needed it) rang out. Seriously, how did the guy manage to shout so loud that they could hear him in the building when he was on the football field?

Frank jumped, the assorted elephant costume pieces he was holding landing on the floor.

Hazel jumped too, and somehow ended up 1.5 metres (he'd lived in Canada until he was fourteen and metric was _way better_) away from him.

Frank looked sheepish, and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Oh, that's Coach Hedge. He's going to kill me! Sorry, Hazel, I've got to go!'

She waved at him, eyes sparkling with mirth.

'See you tomorrow, Frank!'

He waved back, already jogging down the corridor.

Hazel simply smiled as she watched him go.

It was not every day that one saw a handsome elephant who happened to be your soulmate jogging off to football practice, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yes, this is about twelve hours early, but I am a bit bored right now. I'm currently recovering from having two of my wisdom teeth out (not fun), and a bit too out of it to write the next chapter of _Strings of Fate. _(Having said that, I've written 1.5 chapters since I had my wisdom teeth out, but I have no idea whether they even make any sense.)

In this chapter, we finally get to meet Frank's friends properly, I hope I did them justice!

* * *

'What was with the _elephant ears_ earlier, Frank?'

At least, that's what it sounded like he'd said. Percy Jackson, a black-haired, green-eyed Junior, and Frank's football teammate, was talking through a large mouthful of blue popcorn. (Seriously,_ blue_ popcorn.)

'And why were you late for practice? You're pretty much never late for practice.'

Jason Grace, blond, blue-eyed, Sophomore, and also a football player, reached out and took an ordinary-sized handful of the blue popcorn.

'Elephant ears? I missed seeing Frank with elephant ears? Damn it, I knew I should have tried out for football!'

No-one pointed out that there was no way Leo Valdez would've made the team anyway, despite his insistence that they couldn't handle his super-hot skills. Frank and Jason's fellow Sophomore was skinny, scrawny and barely taller than Hazel. He was an awful lot like a Latino elf hyped up on sugar and caffeine at the same time.

The four friends were hanging out in Percy's garage. His mom, Sally, had very kindly invited the boys to stay for dinner and had provided them with (blue) snacks.

It was Friday. Jason, Percy and Frank had just had practice. They'd all decided that homework could wait, even for Juniors like Percy. (Or at least it could wait until Annabeth called Percy and declared that Seaweed Brain would do his homework or she would withdraw certain privileges. That tended to work.)

Frank sighed internally. If he didn't give them a satisfactory explanation, they would nag the truth out of him. He briefly considered lying, but he didn't really like doing that, particularly to his closest friends.

'I was helping Dakota and Gwen with a video for Hannibal the elephant, hence the elephant ears. And I was late to practice and still wearing them because...' His face reddened slightly. 'I was talking to my soulmate. I met her yesterday.'

There was silence for a moment as they digested the news.

(Frank was pretty sure they were all thinking _seriously? Frank Zhang, the awkward, klutzy, half-teddy bear, half-wrestler, managed to meet his soulmate while still in high school? _)

Then, Percy put his arm around his shoulders and handed him the bowl of popcorn.

'That's awesome, man! This calls for a celebration!'

Jason grinned and patted him on the back.

'That's great, Frank! If you need any advice, or just want to talk about it, I'm here for you. We all are.'

He shot a pointed look at the other two boys.

Leo looked crestfallen for a moment (just a moment, but they all caught it), before a look of joking disappointment mixed with an impish grin (only Leo could pull that off) appeared on his face.

'Aw man! I'm the hottest, baddest boy here, and you're all going to get laid before me!'

Percy and Jason rolled their eyes. Frank turned bright red and choked on his popcorn.

Jason thumped him hard on the back.

'Oh, come on, Frankie, stop being such a...'

Leo trailed off. It seemed that (for once) he could sense Frank's severe discomfort.

(Seriously, Leo thought, Frank had to be the most innocent teenage boy in existence.)

Jason, as usual, defused the moment.

'So, Frank, why don't you tell us about her?'

Frank, now significantly less flustered, smiled gratefully at the blond.

'Her name's Hazel Levesque. She's thirteen years old and in the 8th grade.'

He shot Leo a look that said he would not tolerate any more _inappropriate _comments about Hazel or his relations with her.

Leo saluted in response. (_Wow. Protective. And a little scary. It seems little Frankie's finally growing up!_)

Jason and Percy looked a little surprised.

Age differences between soulmates weren't unusual, per se, but Annabeth and Percy and Jason and Piper were more or less the same age. They were in the same years at school, anyway.

'She's also Nico di Angelo's little sister.'

All three boys looked_ very_ surprised.

Frank with Nico's little sister? Broody, loner, only-ever-wears-black Nico di Angelo's sister? (Nico seemed like an okay sort of guy, just...well, broody. And deliberately lonesome. And he wore a lot of black.)

Leo raised a hand.

'Anyone else getting a mental image of Frankie here with a scowling Goth-girl? Because I am, and it doesn't look right!'

Jason and Percy laughed.

Frank crossed his arms.

'She's not like him! I mean, not that there's anything wrong with Nico.. I don't think they're full siblings, I think he's her half-brother. She's got curly cinnamon hair and gold eyes and cocoa skin and a really pretty smile and a dimple on her chin and she's really beautiful and brave and nice...'

Leo put his hands over his ears.

'Your sappy in-love-ness is making my ears bleed!'

Percy looked down at the blue popcorn, as if he was debating whether he'd actually lost his appetite.

Jason noticed, and jogged him with his elbow.

'Hey, you were that bad, if not _worse,_ when I asked you about Annabeth the first time.'

Percy raised an eyebrow.

'Like you can talk, Grace. The day you met Piper? I thought I was going to be sick!'

Leo seemed to have heard them, because he practically launched himself at Frank and clutched at his shirt.

'No, not you too, Frank! Don't go over to the dark side too! Noooo!'

That was the moment that Sally Blofis nee Jackson (yes, she was married to Frank's hockey coach and English teacher, and yes, that was kind of awkward) chose to walk in to fetch the boys for dinner.

Thank the gods that she was used to their antics.

* * *

'So, Frank my man, how was the date with your little lady? Where'd you take her? Did you...'

Leo stopped himself, remembering _that _look, and slung his arm around Frank's shoulders.

Frank groaned internally. It was_ far_ too early on a Monday to deal with Leo's antics.

But then he thought of his time with Hazel on Saturday (and their planned dinner and a movie on Friday) and he felt much better. He smiled.

'It was great! We went to the zoo-'

Leo facepalmed.

'You try so hard to raise them right...'

Jason shook his head.

'Seriously, the zoo? Can you get any less romantic than that, Zhang? I'm not sure who had worse first date plans, you or Percy!'

The boy in question looked extremely miffed.

'Hey! The aquarium is a perfectly valid place to go on a date! Annabeth never complained!'

Jason rolled his eyes.

'She was _humouring you_, Percy. Why she still puts up with you, I don't know.'

Annabeth walked up to the group.

'Is Seaweed Brain bothering you, Frank?'

'Hey, what about Jason and Leo? Why are you just blaming me, Wise Girl?'

Annabeth shot Percy a steely look.

Percy just grinned back at her.

Annabeth kept dissecting him with her eyes.

Percy kept grinning.

She couldn't hold back her smile any longer. Annabeth shook her head, eyes light with humour and affection.

'Why do I even love you?'

Percy smirked.

'Because I have an absolutely winning personality.'

'In your dreams.'

Leo, Jason and Frank watched the two walk away, still bickering/flirting.

None of them had witnessed their first meeting at the age of 12. But they'd heard the stories.

Safe to say, Percy and Annabeth hadn't been fall-in-mutual-love-at-first-sight soulmates.

(After all, there was a reason why their first date had only been last year.)

(Leo thought it'd make a great rom-com plot.)

(From hating one another to bickering friends to a bickering couple? Wasn't that what rom-coms were made of?)


	5. Chapter 5

AN: _Strings of Fate _was updated on Wednesday, the latest chapter being Fairytale!AU with plenty of Frazel if anyone is interested. I'm starting university on Monday (!), but despite the predicted immense increase in workload, since this story is finished, updates will continue as usual. If anyone can guess my intended major, I'll dedicate a chapter to them!

* * *

Frank was on cloud nine.

He and Hazel had been together for about a month.

They'd been on a handful of dates.

He'd tripped over, sat on, broken, and even once, memorably, _almost swallowed, _a lot of objects.

He'd stuttered and fumbled his way through a dozen conversations.

And yet, she was still around.

Soulmate or not, he couldn't quite believe it.

The more he knew about her, the more he _knew her_, the more he admired her and the further she rode into his heart.

Hazel was really, really strong.

She'd had a difficult past, to say the least. The fact that she was still generally cheerful, optimistic and kind demonstrated her strength.

She was the product of an affair. Her father had abandoned her and her mother before she was born, leaving them all alone in New Orleans. Over time, her mother had become more and more bitter, more and more tangled in gang stuff, and colder and colder towards Hazel. When Hazel was 11, her mother had tried to make amends. She'd tried to get out of the gang activity, and tried to improve her relationship with Hazel. Then, she'd died. Hazel implied that it'd had something to do with the gangs. Frank was smart enough to connect the dots. As such, Hazel had been taken in by her father, and moved to Olympus.

She was _herself_. She didn't try to be what she wasn't, and stuck by her beliefs, values, preferences and persona, regardless of what others thought.

(Peer pressure was terrible, everyone knew that. Yet, somehow, she never really seemed to about appearances.)

At the same time, she was kind and sweet.

He'd known that from the first time they met. She brought her brother's things to his school because he forgot them.

He could see it in the way she treated him. She didn't seem to care that he was klutzy and a bit shy and awkward and silly and generally all-round hopeless. In fact, he thought that she might just _like _him that way.

He could see it in the way she coaxed Nico to try and socialize more, to move out of the shadows, even just a little bit. Gently, but firmly.

She was loyal and valued her friends and family (or rather Nico; her father was a sore spot for her) greatly. Frank was convinced that she'd do pretty much anything for them.

He'd been very confused when he realized that she had no friends at Olympus Middle School, none at all. Apparently, no-one wanted to be friends with a girl who'd appeared in the middle of a school year, dressed a little more conservatively than her peers, took no notice of fashion and was related to the di Angelo family. Apparently, they gave off some sort of creepy aura. Frank didn't get it. Sure, Nico was a loner and could be a bit intimidating, but he seemed to be a decent guy. He certainly didn't project an aura of creepiness, more an aura of brooding lonesomeness, if anything.

She'd been quickly welcomed into his friendship group, and rapidly became good friends with Leo, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and even the most aloof of his friends, Reyna. Piper in particular seemed to be taking her in as a little sister.

She'd comforted Leo over the latest girl he'd been mooning over, Khione or something like that.

She'd baked a blue cake for Percy after he'd won three gold medals and captained Olympus High to victory at the most recent swim meet.

She'd helped Piper and Percy stage an intervention for Annabeth and Reyna when they got a little _too _buried into their studies.

And just the other day, she'd admonished Drew Tanaka for some very racist words about Piper's Cherokee heritage.

She was incredible.

No, that wasn't accurate.

She was _freaking incredible._

* * *

Frank knocked on the front door of Hazel's house.

Surprisingly, it wasn't his girlfriend (his heart still did a funny sort of _kerthump_ when he said, heard or thought that word) and soulmate (even more of a_ kerthump_) who answered the door.

It was her brother (or, as he'd discovered, half-brother, but Hazel considered that to be pretty much irrelevant, so he did too).

'Oh...hi.'

The shorter boy simply nodded at him.

'Hi. You can come in, Hazel's just finishing getting ready.'

Frank acquiesced, slightly confused. Hazel wasn't one of those girls who fussed over her appearance; she'd never been not ready when he'd come to pick her up before.

He and Nico stood in the entrance hall in awkward silence for a moment.

It wasn't as if he didn't know him, not really. They _did_ go to the same school, and he _was_ Hazel's brother. Hazel _had_ half-coaxed, half-dragged him into hanging out with their friends a couple of times over the last month and a bit.

It was just he never really knew _what _to talk about around Nico.

They were in different years, so he couldn't really talk about school work.

Nico didn't really seem to care about any of the school gossip, and Frank only knew what he picked up from Piper, who was much more into that sort of stuff, about that anyway.

No, the only two interests that Frank thought he had in common with Nico di Angelo were Hazel and Mythomagic. (He only knew that Nico enjoyed the latter as a guilty pleasure, much like he did, because Hazel had told him.)

He wasn't about to talk to his soulmate's brother about her, so Mythomagic it would have to be.

Anything beat this awkward, awkward silence.

However, Nico beat him to the punch.

'So, Frank, you know how special Hazel is, don't you?'

_Gulp_. In hindsight, he should have known this was coming. Frank changed his mind. The awkward silence was better. Way better.

He nodded resolutely.

'Of course. She's-'

Nico interrupted him, dark eyes boring into him.

'Good. Hazel is amazing. She's wonderful. Having her as a sister is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. She's the only good in my life right now. She deserves nothing short of what she is; good. In fact, I think she deserves _amazing_. With me?'

Scared (Nico was kind of intimidating even when he _wasn't_ trying), but agreeing whole-heartedly with his words, Frank nodded firmly.

'Good. We have an understanding. But if you ever hurt her, Zhang...remember, I've got very, very little to lose.'

Frank nodded again.

(Privately, he thought, Nico wouldn't have to carry out that threat. Frank wanted to never, ever do anything that could hurt Hazel. And if he somehow did, he probably wouldn't be able to live with himself.)

'Nico, I've searched everywhere, but I just can't find your...'

Hazel's voice trailed off as she reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the two boys.

She crossed her arms.

'Nico, are you threatening my boyfriend?'

He didn't respond.

Hazel glared at him. A moment of realization flashed across her face. She glared harder, and poked him in the chest, hard.

'Nico! You haven't _actually_ lost your Africanus Extreme expansion pack, have you? You just wanted me to be out of the way so you could...you scheming, sneaky-'

Nico smiled sheepishly.

Frank stared.

He didn't even know Nico was _capable_ of that expression.

'Sorry, Hazel. But look, he's still in one piece! I didn't damage him.'

Frank pouted.

'I'm right here! And I'm not a vase or something!'

Hazel laughed and shook her head, looping her arm through his, before kissing him softly on the cheek.

(Frank ignored Nico's resultant glare.)

'I know you aren't.'

He grinned back down at her.

Nico shook his head (with an affectionate sort of manner that Frank only ever saw him display towards Hazel) and went upstairs, muttering about sickeningly sweet couple stuff involving his sister making him sick.

Hazel just smiled and steered a still-slightly-stunned-from-everything-that-had-just-happened Frank out the door.

Nico's words, in particular, swirled around his mind.

'_She deserves nothing short of what she is; good. I think she deserves amazing.'_


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Calea: You just have to be patient! Later on in this story, as Frank and Hazel's relationship becomes more established, and Hazel becomes closer to the others, and hence Nico does too, you'll see more of their relationships (both romantic and platonic) and you'll definitely see the other canon pairings from HOO…

Kayleeadams123: Nope, I'm definitely not an English/Creative Writing major, though I'm flattered you guessed that!

We're starting to get to the darker part of the story now, but I promise there will be a happy and sickeningly-fluffy ending!

* * *

Frank sighed as he read over the emails about Hazel, and his life in general, that he'd been sending his mom. He'd only had one, very brief, reply, but he knew that was to be expected.

Ever since his talk with Nico, the younger boy's words have been swirling around his mind.

'_She deserves nothing short of what she is; good. I think she deserves amazing.'_

And that was so true.

But Frank _wasn't_ amazing.

He was just an accident-prone, clumsy, teddy-bear/wrestler cross who was awkward and a little shy.

(And, he was clever enough to realize, lacking in self-confidence.)

He wondered what in the world the gods, or whoever determined soulmates, were thinking.

He didn't deserve her. He wasn't worthy.

(A little voice, the most confident bit of Frank, which sounded an awful lot like his mother, spoke up. _But is anyone you know worthy? _)

He wasn't even that sure if he was really a good person.

(And that was the minimum, the bare minimum requirement, for Hazel's soulmate.)

Frank was, by nature, a non-violent, non-confrontational person.

But, he was certainly capable of doing incredible harm to someone if he so wished.

(That was extremely obvious. One just had to look at his body to know that.)

And, he also knew, he had the potential to wish to do that harm. He had the potential to be violent and dangerous.

He didn't have much of a temper, but he knew he had it in him.

Sometimes, he swore, red flickered across his vision. Red seeped in through the corner of his eyes. Sometimes, he saw red.

The more violent, primal aspect of his personality (perhaps he should call it Neanderthal Frank) was very, very rarely seen.

The protective side of his persona was perhaps the positive side of Neanderthal Frank. His immense desire to protect Hazel, even the protectiveness he felt towards his friends, reflected that.

(If Dylan and his cronies dared to try and attack her, they would have to get through him first. The same went for his friends. He _would_ protect them.)

But there was an awful, terrible, almost frightening downside to Neanderthal Frank.

_Violence. Terror. Harm. Damage. Carnage._

The potential for it was all there.

He _knew._

If Dylan (or anyone, really) hurt Hazel, if he _tried _to hurt Hazel, Frank knew he'd do more than just defend her. If he threw a few punches in her defence, he didn't think he'd be able to stop.

(He'd had a horrible nightmare about that after Hazel's scolding of Drew Tanaka.)

Last year, when one of Dylan's cronies had said some truly horrible words (which he was not even going to repeat in his mind) about Leo's mother (Esperanza Valdez was a strong, kind, wonderful woman), and Leo flew at him, leading to him beginning to beat up Leo, he'd been about to wade into the fray and punch him senseless when Coach Hedge walked past and broke it up.

Or sometimes, when he was on the hockey field or the football field (but never the archery one, his favourite by far), he felt it. He saw it. Sometimes, when he was really caught up in the game, he used a little more force than was necessary. Not enough for a foul, most of the time, but more than was really needed. Oh, he'd never actually gotten into a fight on the field, or committed a really serious foul (in fact, he actually had a reputation as a clean player), but sometimes, he felt himself getting close. Once, he got really, really close. There was a player on the opposing team who kept making disparaging comments about him due to his ethnicity. He'd taken it when it was about him, but the moment the boy made one about his mother (his brave, courageous, duty-driven, kind, heroic mother, back from Afghanistan on leave) he nearly punched him then and there. Only the knowledge that his mother would not approve and that she had taught him better stopped him.

Frank _hated_ that part of himself.

Every time he felt that terrible, violent rage, he pushed it down as best he could. It always filled him with guilt, guilt that he could do such terrible things. That he might do such terrible things.

He knew that he'd never turn on Hazel, his friends, his family.

But with the right trigger (and that trigger would definitely be something to do with them), he could be a monster.

And he really, really didn't want to be.

He didn't want Hazel to see that side of him.

As selfish as he was, as guilty as that made him feel (keeping a secret from her, trying to deceive her), he didn't want her to see that monster.

He didn't want there to even be a chance that she'd see it, _see him_ as a monster.

He didn't want to see the hurt and the fear and the repulsion in her eyes.

Hence, he'd never invited Hazel to watch him play football or hockey. And he never would, regardless of his friends' and teammates' poking and prodding and inquiries and teasing and encouragement.

(So far, the excuses that she was still a middle schooler and that he'd be more nervous if she watched, and hence play worse, worked for them.)

(Hazel, bless her, had never pushed. She seemed to sense that he wasn't quite comfortable with the notion, and had_ reassured_ him that she wasn't really interested in watching hockey or football or being in a crowd of loud high schoolers she didn't know anyway.)

(Besides, she seemed to be more interested in watching him at archery competitions anyway.)

(He had no idea why.)

* * *

'Come on, Nico! It'll be fun!'

Her brother crossed his arms stubbornly.

'I'm not interested, Hazel.'

She sighed.

'All our friends are going to be there to support Frank and the team! Piper and Jason and Leo and Reyna and Percy and Annabeth...'

She might have been imagining it, but a look of pain flashed across his face.

'It's still no, Hazel. I'm not coming with you to watch your boyfriend do archery. Besides, they're your friends, not mine.'

She reached out and took his hand, looking him in the eye.

'They _want _to be your friends too, Nico.'

He snorted.

'No, they don't.'

Hazel shook her head sadly.

_Why can't he see?_

'Frank and Percy have _told _me as much. And I'm positive the others want to be your friend too. They're good people. You're a good person. They'll like you, and you'll like them, if you get to know each other better. Give them a chance.'

She looked at him, eyes slightly sad and pleading.

Nico sighed and kissed her gently on the forehead.

'Okay, Hazel. Okay.'

She beamed and jammed an Olympus High baseball cap on his head.

(She'd borrowed the Olympus High shirt she was wearing and the cap from Piper and Percy respectively for the occasion.)

'Well, come on, or we'll be late!'

* * *

Hazel and Nico arrived just in the nick of time.

Olympus High's archery team was warming up, getting focused, and getting ready when they arrived.

Or, at least, they should have been.

Hazel smiled and waved at Frank, who was standing on the field looking worried and glum. His face brightened when he saw her, and he waved back and called out a greeting, but his face fell again when one of his teammates, Kayla, tapped him on the shoulder and they exchanged a few words.

Hazel turned to Piper and Jason, who were standing next to her and Nico, and had arrived earlier.

'What happened?'

Piper sighed.

'Michael Yew, the Archery Team Captain, has apparently fallen suddenly and violently ill.'

Hazel frowned.

A good leader was essential to any team, even in a sport like archery where competition was essentially individual.

The Swim Team's performance at the last meet was testament to that.

'Oh, no!'

Piper nodded.

'Yeah, I don't think it's looking that good for Frank and his team today...But fingers crossed!'

Jason, who had been watching the Archery Team with interest, shook his head.

'I wouldn't be so sure about that, Pipes.'

Piper turned to him, confused.

'What?'

Jason smiled and nodded towards the huddled archers.

'Just keep watching.'

Hazel focused on Frank and the archers. They'd been standing and gesturing rapidly for the last few minutes, faces reflecting their demoralized spirits.

Suddenly, Frank took a deep breath and stood taller. His expression became determined and he gestured to his teammates, gathering them into a huddle.

Hazel watched as he addressed the team. She couldn't hear him, but what he was doing was clear. He was giving them a pep talk.

She kept watching, fascinated, as he finished his address and newly-resolute, the team scattered and began their individual pre-competition rituals.

She stood transfixed, not really paying any attention to her friends, as she watched him give each team member a few words of encouragement as they stepped up to shoot, and patted them on the back when they finished their turn.

This, she thought as he stepped up to shoot, was a side of Frank she'd never really seen before.

He was confident. He was a leader, a natural leader. He seemed even more solid, stronger, than usual. She could see it, in the way he stood, and the muscles in his back and shoulders and arms as he drew...

Hazel realized she'd been staring. She reddened, turned away, and began to fan her face.

Later, she beamed proudly up at him as Olympus High was announced as the winner. He beamed back, his grin growing even wider when she kissed him on the cheek.

She was _definitely _going to attend more of his archery competitions.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Very short, but a bit of a sweet moment before we start heading into the really dramatic bit of the story…

KayleeAdams123: Glad you like it! Nope, not a pol-sci major either!

* * *

Frank and Hazel sat in his living room, Frank on the couch, Hazel on the floor, leaning against his legs.

(He had protested that arrangement, but Hazel had insisted that she preferred to sit on the floor anyway.)

Frank was reading Sun Tzu's _The Art of War _(apparently a favourite of his long-deceased father). The copy belonged to his mother, and he tended to read it when he especially missed her.

Hazel was drawing, her coloured pencils resting beside her.

A portrait of Frank's grandmother, whom she'd formally met and actually had a proper conversation with just an hour ago, was taking shape.

Frank paused in his reading, and glanced at her work, smiling when he realized what, or whom, she was drawing.

'It's a really great drawing, Hazel.'

The girl smiled back up at him.

'Thanks, Frank. I really like your grandmother.'

He ran a hand through his very short hair.

'Really? She's, well, a bit...intense.'

Hazel laughed.

'True, but I like her.'

They lapsed into comfortable silence for a few minutes, Frank returning to his book and Hazel to her drawing.

Then, Frank took a deep breath and garnered the courage to ask a question he'd been dying to for the past few weeks.

'Hazel, can I see your mark?' He paused, and reddened, remembering where his was, and realizing where her mark must be positioned. 'I mean, no, I'm not suggesting...I didn't intend...I wouldn't, I'm sorry...umm, just...er, forget I said anything.'

Hazel's cheeks pinked, and she fanned her face, slightly flustered, but she smiled at him.

'It's okay, Frank, I know you didn't mean..._that. _I can draw you a picture, if you'd like.'

'I'd like that. I'm pretty awful at drawing, but I'll try and sketch you a picture of mine.'

And so passed the next hour.

(Frank marvelled at Hazel's drawing ability, though he was rather miffed about the whole teddy bear thing. Hazel suppressed a giggle at his drawing skills, but kissed him on the cheek to make up for it. Her eyes lit up when he described the golden horse featured in his mark, and she told him about Arion, a horse at a stable she used to work at that she cared for and occasionally rode back in New Orleans. Frank did a mental fist-pump. Getting that horse-riding voucher for Hazel for her birthday was definitely a good idea.)

The closer to sunset it got, the cooler the temperature of the room. Hazel shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

'Frank, do you think your grandmother would mind if we lit the fireplace?'

He stiffened.

_Say no. If she knew...she'd never look at you like you were a hero ever again. She'll never see you as..._

_She's cold! I can't let her be cold! Besides, I can't keep it a secret forever..._

He took a deep breath.

_Better get it over with...Maybe she won't notice anyway._

'Umm...no, she'll be fine with it. Go ahead.'

Hazel smiled, put down her sketchbook and busied herself lighting the fire.

Frank stayed back and tried to keep calm.

_Just watch Hazel. Think about how beautiful her hair looks in the light. Don't think about the fire. Don't think about it..._

It didn't work. As the flames danced higher in the fireplace, his pulse quickened.

Hazel sat down on the carpet before the fireplace, sighing as she warmed up.

'Come on, Frank! Join me; you must be cold sitting all the way over there.' She turned to him, and noticed the expression on his face. Her brow furrowed in concern. 'Frank? Are you okay?'

He sighed and looked down at the floor. The moment of truth had arrived. He _had _to tell her. (No matter what the consequences may be.)

'Hazel...I'm scared of fire.'

He waited for her to laugh. To mock him for such a ridiculous fear.

But she didn't. Instead, she looked at him with concern, apology and a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

'Would you like me to put it out? I'm sorry, I should have asked if you were okay with it first.'

'No, it's okay. You're cold, and it's alright for me if I just stay here. Far away from it.'

She stood, walked over, and sat on the couch with him, taking one of his hands in hers.

'If you don't mind me asking, why?'

'What?'

'Why are you scared of fire? I mean, there's usually a reason for people's phobias.' She looked a little sheepish. 'I'm scared of going on boats, because I get terribly sea-sick.'

That was certainly not the reaction he'd been expecting. The knot of worry in his stomach untangling, he smiled at Hazel and began to tell the story.

'Well, I don't actually remember, but my mom told me that when I was a baby, I was really curious, crawled really close to the fireplace and tried to touch the flames. I nearly burned myself, and...'

Afterwards, sitting there with Hazel's head resting on his shoulder, close enough to the fire to get some of its warmth, far enough to be completely safe, Frank felt a little more confident, a little stronger, somehow.

Just a little, but it was strength and confidence nonetheless.

* * *

AN: Also, just for your information, this was actually the scene that inspired the entire story. It was one of the first bits written, and the first envisioned. It was also originally intended to be a chapter of an AU oneshots story (which eventually became Strings of Fate)...but it got out of hand.


	8. Chapter 8

KayleeAdams123: You got it! I'm a Chemistry-major-to-be! (Bet that was a bit of a surprise!) This chapter's for you!

We're now approaching the main drama of the story...

* * *

'You were incredible out there!'

Frank blushed, like he almost always did when she praised him.

'It was a team effort, really.'

Hazel jogged him lightly with her elbow.

'Great teams need great leaders, Frank. Give yourself some credit.'

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

'Well, I can't say no to you.'

She grinned up at him, and he bent to kiss her on the nose.

'Although, hopefully I won't be Archery Captain for much longer.'

She nodded.

'Michael's still sick?'

'Unfortunately, yes.'

Hazel sighed.

'It's-'

A snide voice interrupted her.

'Oh, well, look here. If it isn't Archery Captain Zhang and his middle schooler girlfriend. She's the one I told you about, father.'

Frank and Hazel turned to face the straw-haired boy.

'Octavian.'

They noticed the pot-bellied man beside him, his father, Phineas.

Gossips of the worst sort.

They seemed to know everything about everyone, and delighted in sharing all the horrible bits.

Frank drew himself up to his (rather impressive) height, and Hazel did her best to try and match him.

She spoke first, her voice somehow sounding far bolder than she felt.

'We're not interested in your _words,_ Octavian.'

He laughed. A shiver ran up her spine. (Those dark thoughts, the ones that whispered to her about the past in her worst moments, started up.)

'Oh, really? _You_ might not be, but your boyfriend here would like to know, I'm sure.'

Octavian grinned terrifyingly as Phineas spoke.

'Oh, yes, surely he'd want to hear the truth, girl. About what you've done.'

'What you left behind in New Orleans.'

'Or should it be who?'

Frank's hands balled into fists.

'Leave her alone! She's a good person!'

The father-son duo laughed coldly.

'Oh, wait till you hear the truth, Zhang.'

'Then we'll see if you're still so sweet on your girlfriend...'

He took two steps towards them, red seeping into his vision.

'She's a million times better than you are!'

They ran off, voices echoing behind them.

'Just you wait, Zhang, just you wait...'

Frank made to follow them. Only Hazel's hand on his arm stopped him.

Immediately, he turned to her. She was blinking back tears.

'Oh, Hazel...'

He reached out and took her hands, looking into her eyes.

'Don't listen to them. You're a good person, Hazel. An amazing person.'

Tears began to trickle down her face.

'I don't deserve you...' Her voice broke. 'I really don't...You don't know-'

'Stop that!' He scowled. 'You're great, Hazel. You really are.'

He pulled her into his arms, and they stood there, him stroking her hair, until her breathing slowed and calmed and the tears stopped.

He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, eyes boring into hers.

'You _are_ a great person, Hazel.'

She smiled weakly at him, but her thoughts whispered otherwise.

_If only he knew._

She didn't deserve him.

She really, really didn't.

Frank was _good._ He always did the right thing. Always. If he knew the truth, knew what (or perhaps who) she'd left back in New Orleans, he wouldn't defend her against Octavian and Phineas. He wouldn't stand up for her, and look at her with such earnestness in his eyes and declare she was a good person. He wouldn't hold her and stroke her hair while she cried, or go with her to the zoo to visit Hannibal, or play Scrabble with her.

No, he would reject her if he knew the truth.

As kind and gentle and loyal as Frank was, as much as he cared about her now, he would not stay if he knew.

Because he was good.

And what she'd done wasn't.

She...she _should_ tell him.

He deserved to know the truth.

She'd known that for a long, long time. Pretty much as soon as they'd met.

But Hazel _couldn't_. She really _couldn't._

She couldn't bear to lose him.

It made her feel _so guilty_, so terrible, but she just couldn't tell him.

_He has to know someday. You can't keep hiding it forever._

_Besides, you know you won't be able to if he asked. If he actually looked you in the eye and asked, how could you do anything but tell the truth?_

As she'd been doing for the last couple of months (or rather years), she pushed the thoughts away.

* * *

Frank knocked firmly on Hazel and Nico's front door.

He waited a minute, but there was no answer. No echo of footsteps down the corridor, no sound of voices.

He frowned, and walked around to the gate leading to the back yard. As he neared it, he heard familiar voices.

'Do you still miss New Orleans?'

That was Nico.

'Of course. But there still isn't anywhere I'd rather be than here, Nico.'

And that was Hazel.

Silence for a moment.

Frank knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but this seemed to be altogether a far too private moment for him to interrupt, and he was curious...

'Do...do you miss Sammy?'

Nico's voice was more hesitant this time.

Frank's brow furrowed. Who was this Sammy? Hazel had never mentioned him.

He concentrated on hearing her reply.

'Of course I miss him! As much as I miss Mom. Probably more.'

Her voice sounded sad and wistful.

Something horrible clenched in his stomach.

Clearly, this Sammy meant an awful lot to her.

Yet, she'd never mentioned him.

Hazel was not terribly forthcoming about her past.

He'd thought that was because of how terrible it was. (And he understood that.)

But...but what if it was (at least partially) about this Sammy guy? What if he was...a past boyfriend, former flame, former love of hers? What if...what if she still loved him?

(She did miss him at least as much as she missed her mother, after all. This Sammy must really have been a special guy.)

Frank looked down, and realized his hands were clenched into fists.

She had a _history _with this Sammy guy.

(She might still have feelings for him. Frank really didn't like that. As possessive and primal and slightly objectifying as it was, Hazel was _his, _just like he was _hers. _Or so he thought.)

She'd never told him.

(He wasn't sure what was worse. The jealousy or the hurt.)


	9. Chapter 9

AN:One of, if not the, longest chapters in this entire story. I personally love this chapter to bits; what do you think?

* * *

Sally Blofis glanced concernedly at her son's Chinese-Canadian friend.

Frank, while normally a little quieter than the other three boys, seemed abnormally silent and closed-off today. He'd picked at his dinner, and had barely moved when the other three went off to the living room to play video games. It was only Leo's arm around his shoulders (quite a feat for the Latino boy) that ensured he'd gone with them.

Now, he was back in the kitchen, alone, doubtlessly having mumbled some excuse about getting a drink.

'Are you okay, Frank?'

(He was obviously _not_ okay, but what else could she say? Demand that he tell her what was bothering him? She wasn't his mother, even though she and Esperanza had often been surrogate mothers to Frank and Jason.)

He put down the glass of water he was holding, and looked at her, obviously uncomfortable.

But Frank had always been (and would always be) _frank, _so he replied.

'No, I'm not.'

Sally walked over and stood opposite him, leaning on the kitchen counter.

'I know I'm not your mother, Frank, and I can't be her, but if you need to talk, I'm here.'

He smiled wanly.

'Thank you, Mrs Blofis.'

She shook her head, eyes warm with affection.

'Sally, dear. Call me Sally.'

(Though, she'd been telling him to call her that for a year and a half now. He'd probably never change.)

They stood there in silence for a while, Frank sipping his glass of water.

Sally just waited.

Finally, he spoke.

'Hypothetically, how should you feel if your soulmate loved someone before they met you, and didn't tell you about them?'

_Oh, poor Frank. And poor Hazel. _

(She'd seen the two of them together several times, and it was as clear as day that the two were head-over-heels for one another. It was clear that they were good for each other; she didn't know Hazel all that well, but she knew Frank's nature well enough, and she'd seen the slowly-growing quiet confidence in the boy. But no relationship was free of its challenges and troubles, and they were so young...)

Sally smiled gently at him.

'Frank, do you know my story? Do you know how I came to be married to Paul, and how I came to have Percy?'

He reddened and looked flustered.

(Obviously, he had wondered how Percy had come to be, considering that Paul was her soulmate but not his biological father.)

'No, I don't…I mean...it's private.'

She busied herself making some hot chocolate.

'Well, I met Percy's father when I was quite young. We knew that we weren't soulmates, but we fell in love anyway. Percy was born, and we parted not long after because he met his soulmate.'

Frank frowned.

'...I'm sorry.'

She smiled at him.

'Don't be. I don't regret my relationship with Percy's father, or having Percy.' She took a deep breath. She'd reached the point that she was trying to make. 'I spent a long time alone after that. I didn't meet Paul until four years ago. If not for Percy, I think I would have found it much harder to tell him about Percy's father.'

She handed Frank a cup of hot chocolate. He looked down at it.

'But you _did_ tell him.'

She guided him over to the dining table, and they sat down.

'Frank, they weren't the first words out of my mouth. Not nearly. It took me a little longer than it should have, and remember, Paul and I are much older than you. My point is, Frank, that you shouldn't judge your soulmate for having loved someone else before you. Some people never meet their soulmate, and some people's relationships with their soulmate don't work out. Besides, people _do_ fall in love, because they're human and it's part of our nature. People fall in love with people who are not their soulmate more often than most people think.'

He looked up briefly from his hot chocolate, then looked down again, shoulders slumped. Sally could tell that he now felt very, very guilty, which he shouldn't.

'But it's also okay and normal to feel jealous, and to be hurt because they didn't tell you. But you shouldn't let it destroy your relationship. They have their reasons for not telling you yet.'

She reached out and put a hand on his. He looked up, and they made eye contact.

'Talk to her Frank. Remember how much you love her.'

His cheeks burned red, but expression serious, he nodded.

'I will.'

He took a large gulp of his hot chocolate.

'Thanks, Mrs Blofis, I mean, Sally. Thanks.'

She smiled at him and poured some more hot chocolate into his mug.

'Anytime, Frank, anytime.'

* * *

Of course, Frank mused, it was much easier said than done.

But it _had_ to be done. They had to talk about it.

It'd been five days since he'd overheard _that_ conversation, and seven since their encounter with Octavian and Phineas, and things hadn't been quite right between them ever since.

They were sitting in his living room. His grandmother was on the other side of the house, playing mah-jong with friends. It was as good a time as any.

He took a deep breath.

'Hazel...who did you leave behind when you left New Orleans?'

Her eyes widened. She jumped up and took a step backwards.

'Who told you? Phineas? Octavian? Whatever they told you, I can explain, Frank-'

'Why didn't you tell me, Hazel? Don't you trust me? Didn't you think I deserved to know?'

She flinched at the pain in his voice. He stood.

'I was scared, Frank! So scared of telling you, so scared of how you would react, so I kept putting it off...'

He flung his hands in the air.

'Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to keep your ex-boyfriend a secret from me forever?'

The hurt and bitterness in his tone stung her.

'Of course I was going to tell you! I just-' She paused for a moment, fully processing what he'd said. 'Wait, ex-boyfriend? _That's _what you've been going on about?'

The genuine confusion in her voice shocked him, and the pained tone of his voice was replaced by curiosity.

'Yes, that Sammy guy...what were you referring to?'

Hazel's eyes filled with tears.

Oh, gods, he'd made her cry. That was _not_ what he'd intended to do.

'If...if you really don't want to talk about it, it's okay...'

(Well, no it wasn't, not really, because he was still hurt and jealous, but _she was crying _and he had a feeling there was a lot more to the story than an ex-boyfriend.)

She shook her head and took a deep breath, and sat down on the couch, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

'No, you need to know...Frank...I haven't been completely honest with you. I never told you everything about what happened to my mother, and what I left behind in New Orleans.'

She sniffled. He sat down on the couch beside her. Her confession, and the promise of the explanation, somehow made him feel less hurt. He remembered Sally's words. _They have their reasons..._

'You know that my mother got mixed up with the gangs. And you know she tried to get out of it, and that they killed her because of it. But...' She glanced hesitantly at him, and then looked back down at her hands. 'You don't know the full story.' She took a deep breath. 'I got home from my job at the riding stable a little earlier than usual. When I got home, the front door was open. That's...that's when I knew something bad must have happened. I...I stayed quiet, like my mother had told me to if something like that happened...and I walked inside.' She took another deep breath. 'I picked up a...a marble statute, of the Roman god Pluto, that was on a table in the hallway...and I walked into the living room, and I saw...I saw...' Her voice broke, and she choked out a sob. 'I saw a man. Holding a bloody knife. Kneeling over my mother...who...who wasn't moving.' She started crying again, and he had to strain to hear her words through her tears. 'I...I don't quite remember what happened next, but...next moment, I was standing over an unconscious man with a bloody dent in his head holding the statute...'

She looked up at him, tears pouring down her face and fear and guilt in her eyes. Hazel had always been tiny and young, especially compared to him, but she'd never looked so small.

'Frank...I...I nearly _killed_ a man. He's in a coma in a New Orleans hospital. They think I gave him brain damage. It nearly went to court and I almost...I almost...Phineas and Octavian...they...they were right about me.'

She turned away, and got up as if to leave.

He reached out and grabbed her hand.

'No, no they weren't! You _are _a good person, Hazel! You tried to save your mom! You tried to defend her, even though he had a knife. You were an _eleven-year-old girl_, and you were so, so brave-'

'I nearly killed him, Frank!'

He shook his head and pulled her down onto the couch beside him.

_Why can't she see?_

'In self-defence! Hazel, you didn't mean to-'

'I'm not even sure what I meant to do, all I knew was that I had to _something, _but I really didn't have to hit him that hard with a marble statute-'

'Hazel, you were eleven years old without absolutely no self-defence training whatsoever! You saw a man with a bloody knife standing over your unconscious, dying mother. You had a marble statue in your hands. You did what any reasonable person would do!' He took her hands and looked into her eyes. 'The fact that you still feel guilty about it just proves that you're a really, really good person.'

She stared for a moment, then smiled wanly at him.

'I don't deserve you.'

He laughed hollowly.

'No, _I_ don't deserve _you_. I was the one who jumped to conclusions like crazy because I was mad with jealousy, and accused you of lying about an ex-boyfriend when your secret was obviously much more, well...serious and painful.'

'And I was the one who didn't tell you the truth because I was too scared of losing you, _causing _you to jump to those conclusions.'

They both reddened as they processed what the other had said.

_He was mad with jealousy over me?_

_She didn't tell me because she was too scared of losing me?_

He reached out and enfolded her in his arms.

'I'm sorry, Hazel.'

'I'm sorry too, Frank.'

They stayed there for a moment, both feeling much lighter and more at ease.

Then they broke apart, and sat side by side on the couch.

Hazel frowned, tilting her head to the left.

'Frank, how did you find out about Sammy?'

He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Umm...well, I ended up eavesdropping on you talking to Nico. It was an accident, I swear!'

She laughed and entwined her hand with his.

'I believe you, don't worry!' Her voice turned more serious. 'But if you're to know the full story...Sammy was the old man who owned the stables that I used to work at. He...he was very kind to me at a time when no-one else was. He was more than a friend, he was really like my grandfather...' Tears started to fall again. He pulled her closer, and she rested her head on his chest. '...He was killed not long after my mother...the police always believed it was retaliation for...for what I did.'

He held her tighter as she sobbed into his chest. He felt some tears prickling in his own eyes.

_She's so, so wracked with guilt. It's not fair, not fair at all that these things happened to her, that she feels this way..._

Eventually, her sobs slowed. Hazel sat up, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes.

'I'm sorry, I think I've ruined your shirt.'

He looked down at the shirt in question and shrugged.

'It's just a shirt.'

For some reason, that made her laugh.

'Boys.'

Her face turned serious again.

'So, are we okay?'

He took a deep breath and paused, looking down. He gathered his courage. If they were to be completely honest with one another, there was one more thing...

He looked up.

There was fear in her eyes, likely a result of his hesitation.

'No, not quite. If we're going to be completely, totally honest with one another...there is one more thing.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'I...I don't quite know how to explain it. Come to my football match next week...and we'll talk about it after. I promise.'

She nodded, the fear receding from her eyes, replaced by understanding.

'Okay.' She smiled and curled closer to him.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

'We're going to be okay.'

She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

'We're going to be more than okay.'

* * *

AN: Okay, a little justification about Frank accusing Hazel of lying about an ex-boyfriend (by omission).

I know this does not happen in canon, and probably wouldn't happen. In canon, I interpret that Frank is mostly jealous of Leo and wary of him (as a manifestation of his insecurities), and a bit hurt and bitter that Hazel seems to be drawn to Leo and didn't tell him about Sammy, but is not really very angry at Hazel or concerned about her cheating on him or anything- more concerned that he's going to lose her.

However, we've got a bit of a difference in universe here. Firstly, the whole soulmate thing adds another dimension, in my opinion, and secondly, well, there is no Sammy/Leo/ex-boyfriend's stunt-double around for Frank to be jealous/wary of, so his insecurity kind of manifests itself in jumping to conclusions (as in being paranoid).

Also, questionable morality of Hazel hitting a guy over the head with a marble statue, but I think it's what any reasonable person in that scenario would do, or is at least a reasonable response. (Given that one's mother is dying/dead on the floor, a guy is holding a knife and one is likely to be the next victim, I think it's a reasonable way to act.)


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Focus of this story shifts a little after this chapter; we're going to find out what else has been going on, or is about to go on, among Frank and Hazel's friends soon!

* * *

Hazel sat in the stands with Annabeth, Piper, Reyna and Leo, watching Olympus High's football match.

Unfortunately, it was not going well.

Coach Hedge had been sent off for abusive language and threatening an opposition player (who, in all fairness, was not playing a clean game at all) with a baseball bat. (Which was weird, because he was a football coach.)

Their captain, Charles Beckendorf, had been injured. It looked like he might have a broken arm, which had sent his cheerleader girlfriend and soulmate Silena into tears of distress.

The team was essentially directionless, and it was already half-time.

Annabeth, with her clever strategic mind, seemed to have already performed an analysis.

'Percy and Jason have the leadership potential and abilities to take charge, but they lack the strategic minds. However...' She turned to Hazel. 'Do you think your boyfriend can step up?'

_Well, I haven't seen as much of that confident, natural leader side of him in this match, archery is really far more up his alley than football. But he's still the same person, and he's been calling and leading the defensive plays really well. Necessity brought out his confidence in regards to the archery team, and look where he is now! He's already more confident than he was when we met. _

She nodded firmly.

'I believe he can.'

Piper, who had been telling off Leo for objectifying the cheerleaders, turned to the other three girls, before pointing to the field.

'Good call, Hazel.'

The players had gathered together on the edge of the field.

Frank appeared to be addressing them.

Percy, oblivious as ever, stared at him with what seemed to be shock.

Jason was smiling knowingly.

One figure, probably Dylan, tried to challenge him.

Hazel's hands clutched her scarf tighter.

_Come on, Frank, you're so much better than him. Be strong!_

Frank stared the bully down, and Hazel grinned with pride.

Reyna looked surprised.

When half-time finished, Olympus High took to the field more confident than they were before. The girls and Leo stood and gave them an extra-loud cheer. (Except Reyna, because that wasn't dignified. She simply cheered, which was unusual enough for her.)

They played with much more direction too.

As unexpected as it was for most of the crowd, Frank, a _Sophomore, _that _klutzy shy Asian kid_, seemed to be taking charge.

Hazel beamed through the entire rest of the game, and her voice became hoarse from cheering.

The game ended in a very, very narrow win for Olympus, causing half the stands to erupt in cheering. Hazel heard people cheering Frank's name, and her grin grew even wider.

Annabeth turned to her, smiling.

'Your boyfriend's a good strategist.'

Hazel nodded proudly.

'He is.' She reached out and touched the older girl's arm as she turned away. 'Annabeth, do you think you could tell him that? It'd mean a lot to him, coming from you...'

(Annabeth's strategic mind and intellect were legendary.)

A slight blush tinted the blond's cheeks.

'I certainly will.'

* * *

'Good job, man!'

Percy slung an arm around Frank's shoulders as they exited the locker room.

Jason patted him firmly on the back.

'You really stepped up to the plate today. Great work, Frank.'

Dylan simply ignored him, which was much better than usual, so Frank supposed it could mean that he'd earned some grudging respect from the bully.

However, as pleasant as all the praise was (and as surprising as it was), his mind was elsewhere.

He'd played really hard today, and pushed at least as hard as he was pushed. He'd felt Neanderthal Frank taking charge during a good portion of the game.

_What will Hazel think?_

He needed to talk to her.

Today, she'd finally seen him for what he really was. Seen what he could do. What potential he had.

He sent a silent prayer to gods that he wasn't even sure existed.

_Please, please don't let her be disgusted. Or worse, scared. Please._

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a familiar curly-haired girl flinging her arms around him.

Despite his preoccupation, he smiled and hugged her back firmly.

'You were absolutely incredible, Frank!'

He flushed. There was so much pride, even maybe a little _awe_ in her voice...

'It was nothing, really, I just did what I had to do.'

As she kissed him on the cheek, he reddened further.

The others sniggered, and there were a few _interesting _comments from Leo and some of the other footballers walking past.

Frank now resembled a tomato, while Hazel was also noticeably blushing and fanning her face.

Percy rescued them.

'There's a party at Dakota's. You guys all coming?'

'Oh, yeah, this super-hot McShizzle's definitely going to be there! After all, wouldn't want to disappoint all the ladies!'

Piper rolled her eyes. Annabeth sighed. Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. Reyna just looked impassive as usual. (Gods, the girl had really good composure.) Piper stepped over and put an arm around Jason, a gesture which he reciprocated, almost as if they were comforting each other.

_We'll survive him, I promise..._

'Pipes and I will be there, Percy.'

'Reyna?'

The dark-haired girl raised an eyebrow at Percy (_Really?)_, but didn't speak.

'I know, I know. Just asking in case you've changed your mind.'

The green-eyed boy looked hopefully at his soulmate.

'Wise Girl?'

She considered for a moment, then smiled at him.

'Fine. I can stay for an hour, then I have to go and study.'

Percy punched the air.

'Oh, yeah! Victory!'

Once he'd calmed down a little, he turned to Hazel and Frank.

'You two coming? Everyone will want to see you there, Frank!'

Frank and Hazel shared a glance.

'No, I don't think it's really our thing.'

'And Nico would kill me if I took Hazel to a high school post-game party.'

Hazel smiled and squeezed his hand.

'No, he won't. I won't let him.'

Leo rolled his eyes.

'Well, I'm out of here before you get all sappy on me!'

Percy, Piper and Jason glanced at them.

'Are you sure?'

(Annabeth and Reyna seemed to agree with their view of these parties.)

They both nodded.

'Okay then, but you don't know what you're missing out on!'

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

'Don't listen to Seaweed Brain, you two. Sure, sometimes they can be fun, but more often than not it's just drunk teens making out. You're not missing much.'

The other teenagers left, leaving Frank and Hazel sitting on the bleachers alone.

Frank took a deep breath.

'I...I promised to explain after the game...' He took another deep breath. 'So that's what I'm going to do.'

Hazel nodded and squeezed his hand gently. _Go on. You can do it._

'...Football, as I'm sure you've seen is...is a bit of a rough game. A violent game. When I play, sometimes...sometimes I...I...' He ran a hand through his hair. 'I'm not making any sense.' He took another deep breath. 'Hazel...look at me.' He gestured at his body. 'If I wanted to, I could hurt people really, really badly.' He looked down. 'And...and I know I have that potential to be violent. Sometimes, I really, really want to hurt people...and I just see red...and it comes out when I play. You can see it when I play and...' He trailed off, completely unsure of what to say.

He looked up warily at her.

Hazel was staring at him. With affection in her eyes...and was, was that _awe?_

'Frank, you mean you were scared of inviting me to a game because you thought I might see your potential for violence and be scared or horrified?'

He nodded slowly.

'..I hate that part of myself...and I was worried that you would too, or even worse, you'd be scared of me...'

Hazel shook her head, a half-smile on her face.

'I don't deserve you, Frank.'

He stared at her in shock.

_Surely it's the other way around?_

She shook her head again.

'Oh, Frank, why can't you see? This is no different from what you told me. We've _all _got terrible potential within us. But the fact that you're so concerned about it just reflects how much of a good person you are!'

'You really think so?'

Hazel poked him in the chest.

'I know so.'

Slowly, he smiled, as a flush crept up his face.

He leant over and kissed her on the cheek.

'Thank you, Hazel. But I still disagree with you. I don't think _I _deserve _you.'_

Hazel just smiled and shook her head, before scooting closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, before Hazel spoke up, her voice soft but resolute.

'I _don't_ deserve you, Frank.'

He opened his mouth to disagree, but she put a finger to his lips.

'I really don't, and I think that no matter what you say, I'll always think that.' She took a deep breath. 'And I think that you'll always think that you don't deserve me, no matter what I say...But...I just want you to know, that I choose to be with you. I choose _you_. Not because of the marks, but because of you..._Because you're you_...And...and I think that you choose to be with me for me too...so I...well, I don't think it's about deserving each other, not really...What's really important is that we chose each other.'

He smiled at her (and it was the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen), and leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

'And that is exactly why I think I don't deserve you.'

But it was in a lighter tone than he'd ever said it before, so she beamed back and simply punched him lightly on the arm.

'But...don't think,_ know_, that I choose to be with you because you're you too, Hazel.'

And that, not any of the scenes from those cheesy romance movies that are Piper's (and she suspects Frank's and her brother's) guilty pleasure, is the singularly most romantic thing she's ever heard in her life, as short as it has been.

She reached out and embraced _her _Frank.

* * *

AN: Okay, a bit sappy, but anyone else envision Frazel as a really let's-talk-about-our-feelings couple? (They do spend a lot of time talking, and are emotionally very open people.)


	11. Chapter 11

AN: The focus of this story is now going to shift a little bit, and we're going to get a little less Frank-and-Hazel-centric, and start seeing what's been going on with the rest of their friends…

* * *

'Jason, where is everyone?'

Percy, upside-down on the old couch in his garage, somehow managed to take a sip of his blue Cherry Coke.

The blond had to admit that he had a point. It was Friday evening, Percy's garage, the time and place for their friend group's semi-regular weekly hang-outs, but only he and Percy were there.

'Well, Piper's dad is in town, so she's having dinner with him.'

Percy looked confused.

'Why aren't you there?'

'Piper isn't letting him meet me yet, something about incentive to get him to come back more often.'

Percy let out a low whistle.

'Woah, she's good.'

Jason smiled.

'I know.'

Percy shifted positions so he was lying sideways on the couch instead.

'I know Frank and Hazel are on a date at the zoo.'

Jason shot him a quizzical look.

Percy shrugged.

'Yeah, I know, it beats me, the aquarium's ten times better anyway.'

Jason put his head in his hands.

Percy ignored him and continued.

'Apparently, Hannibal's feeling better so they want to go see him.'

Jason shrugged.

'Well, I guess if they enjoy it...'

Percy nodded sagely, which was a weird look for him.

Jason checked their friends off on his fingers as he accounted for their whereabouts.

'Reyna is meeting up with her sister, who is back in town. Annabeth texted you ten minutes ago saying she's on her way after finishing her study session. No-one has really seen Leo outside of classes for almost a week...'

'Where is he? I miss him and his stupid sense of humour.'

'Like you can talk, Jackson!'

Percy looked offended.

Jason's expression grew serious.

'But I've got no idea where he's been, Percy. I've texted him so many times, but he keeps sending back these vague replies. I stopped by his mom's garage after school today, and even she has no idea where he is!'

They shared a concerned look. That was not like Leo.

'Ah well, I guess he'll come to us if he needs help or needs to talk...'

Jason privately wasn't so sure. Leo tended to complain about being a seventh wheel and not really feeling like he belonged.

He wasn't the only one who wasn't in a relationship, but Reyna was happily and securely single (Jason was relieved that she no longer had feelings for him), and Nico was, well, Nico...He wasn't exactly an open kind of guy.

'Well, the only person left is Nico.'

Percy looked up and grinned.

'Yeah, we should definitely drag him over! He really needs to get out more!'

Percy got up, intending to run over to Nico and Hazel's place, which was only a couple of blocks away, but Jason stood and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He remembered the pained looks that he'd seen Nico give Percy and Annabeth. It might not be a good idea for Percy to go invite him over.

Apparently, the three of them had been a lot closer when they were young, in elementary school. But after a while, Nico had just shut them out and ignored them for years until Hazel and Frank had met. At the time, Annabeth and Percy, especially Percy, had been hurt, but put it down to Nico's grief over his sister's death and their move to middle school.

'No, I'll go get him. You've had far too much soda; you'll probably get a stitch if you run, and besides, Annabeth should be here soon.'

Percy's face lit up at the mention of Annabeth, and he flopped back down on the couch.

Jason exited the garage.

* * *

He knocked on the door of Nico and Hazel's house.

A dark-haired boy in a black T-shirt answered. Nico looked surprised to see him.

'What are you doing here, Jason?'

Jason smiled at him.

'Inviting you over to Percy's place. Today is semi-regular weekly hang-out day after all.'

Nico stared at him.

'You've been spending way too much time with Percy. Anyway, I'm not interested.'

Jason took a step forward.

'Come on, Nico! It'll be fun! You've come pretty much every other week!'

Nico rolled his eyes.

'Hazel is persuasive.'

Jason stubbornly crossed his arms, so Nico continued.

'Frank and Hazel are at the zoo. Piper's dad's in town, as is Reyna's sister. Leo is AWOL...'

Jason was frankly surprised at how aware of what was going on with their friends Nico was, considering his loner nature.

'...So it'd just be you, and Percy and Annabeth.'

Jason saw the pain that flickered across the younger boy's face when he said that last phrase.

He took a deep breath.

'Nico, are you okay?'

The dark-haired boy took on a defensive look, and he moved to shut the door. Jason grabbed the edge and forced him to keep it open.

'Nico, I know you're not okay. Not talking to anyone about it isn't going to make it better. You don't have to talk to me, you can talk to Hazel or Reyna or Frank or Piper or anyone else, but you've got to talk to someone!' Jason took a deep breath, and spoke in a gentler tone. 'We're all your friends, Nico. You can trust us.'

Nico turned away for a moment, then glanced back at Jason, pain and misery written across his face.

'You'd better come in. It's a pretty long story.'

His tone made it sound more like it was a story he didn't want to tell where he could possibly be overheard.

Two minutes later, they were sitting in armchairs opposite one another in the living room.

Nico stared down at his hands. Jason just watched him.

'I..I've known Percy and Annabeth since just after they met, when they were in the 6th grade and I was in the 4th. They...they were nice to me when a lot of other kids weren't. They were there for me when Bianca...when Bianca...passed.' Nico shuddered and his voice cracked. 'And...and they were soulmates...A perfect couple...'

He fell silent.

Jason tentatively spoke up.

'Some...some people say that you were or still are in love with Annabeth.'

Nico laughed bitterly.

'Of course they would.'

The pieces clicked into place.

Jason looked at the dark-haired teen, slumped in his chair.

'Nico.' He looked up. 'It's okay. I get it. You don't have to say it if you don't want to.'

Nico took a deep breath. Then another. He sat still for a moment, and then all the fight and denial seemed to go out of him all at once.

'I...I wasn't in love with Annabeth. Never was and never will be.' His voice was like broken glass.

'You were jealous of her. That's why you don't want to be around them. Especially why you don't want to be around...him. It makes total sense.'

Nico nodded slowly.

'I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson.'

He took another deep breath.

'I had a crush on Percy.' He practically spat it out, as if he was expelling poison from his body. 'That's the truth. That's my big secret.'

He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack.

'If the others found out-'

'You'd have that many more people to back you up and unleash absolute fury on anybody who gives you trouble.'

Nico scowled at him.

'But it's your call, Nico. Your decision to share or not. I can only tell you-'

Nico looked down at his feet.

'I don't feel that way anymore. I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I...I don't...'

His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary-eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn't imagine what it'd been like for Nico all these years, keeping his secret. There was definitely nothing wrong with being gay, but even though people had had soulmates of the same sex forever, it had once been viewed as wrong and unnatural, and there were people around who still thought that. It seemed that he'd been in denial for all these years, feeling even more alone than he was.

Gently, he spoke.

'Nico, I've seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest.'

Nico looked up uncertainly. He gave a very, very weak smile.

'...We should go. Percy and Annabeth will be wondering where we are.'

Jason grinned.

'You're going?'

Nico shrugged.

'I haven't got anything better to do and considering how long we've taken, I don't think we can come up with an excuse if I didn't.'

Jason's grin grew wider.

* * *

Nico and Jason walked into the garage, to find Annabeth forcing Percy to do his homework.

(Jason was relieved, if they'd walked into something else...Nico might lose all the progress he'd made in the last hour or so.)

'Hey, what took you guys so long?'

Nico shrugged, as nonchalantly as he could manage.

'Grace is nowhere near as persuasive as Hazel.'

He dropped a box on couch.

'And I had to find a box to put these in. Hazel baked brownies yesterday, and I thought I'd share.'

'Brownies? Awesome, man!' Percy grabbed one and spoke with his mouth full, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from Annabeth. 'You're the best. And so is Hazel!'

Jason, who could never resist brownies, gave Nico a thumbs up, as his mouth was also full.

Annabeth bit into one far more delicately, and swallowed before speaking.

'Thank you, Nico, and please thank Hazel for me too.' She sighed. 'Oh, to be in middle school and have all the time in the world...'

Percy stared at her in shock.

'Who are you and what you have done to my Annabeth?'

Jason was the only one who noticed pain flicker across Nico's face at those words, but the younger boy laughed along with them anyway.

Maybe Nico would be okay after all.

* * *

AN: A significant amount of this was lifted from HoH. Obviously, I don't claim to own it.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Thank you to all the readers of _Strings of Fate _who wished me well (I was in a rather bad emotional state earlier in the week owing to high-school-esque drama, which I strangely didn't really experience in high school, but am so feeling in uni...) I'm feeling a bit better now.

I think (there's a lot of chapters) that we are about 2/3s of the way through this story now. I hope you're enjoying it so far!

* * *

Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Reyna and even Nico (who'd been dragged along by his sister) all sat in Percy's garage, eating pizza and blue cake provided by Sally.

While they ate, Annabeth, Jason and Reyna discussed the changes they'd make to school policy if they had the power, with Percy interjecting every now and then with something silly or absurd, while his mouth was full, earning him a slap on the back of the head from Annabeth or Piper.

Piper sat on the floor next to the chatting trio and Percy, food abandoned on the floor, half-listening while braiding Hazel's unruly curls (a difficult task), as the younger girl sat beside her boyfriend, watching him and her brother play Mythomagic.

But something, or rather _someone_, was missing.

No-one had seen Leo outside of classes, not even at lunchtimes or before school, for almost two weeks. Even in class, he avoided them and said nothing of interest or value when confronted.

They'd all been concerned, but text messages were ignored, and Jason's visit to Leo's mother's garage, and Piper's to his house, had not yielded any results. Esperanza Valdez herself had absolutely no idea what was going on with her son and was also extremely worried.

But Leo was stubborn and had a tendency to hide his feelings behind jokes and flirtation, so none of them were getting anywhere.

Or at least, none of them had gotten anywhere so far.

At around 8 pm, just as Frank and Hazel (and hence Nico) were contemplating leaving, Leo waltzed in.

Immediately, they all realized something was off about him.

Leo did not sit still. He was really, really ADHD and was always fiddling with something, practically unconsciously making weird gadgets from what was around him and in the tool belt that he wore everywhere.

Yet, Leo _was_ still. His hands were not moving. He wasn't giving off that aura of hyperactivity and excess energy that he normally had.

He didn't even make a joke or say anything.

He didn't even have on his signature manic grin.

He just grabbed a piece of pizza and sat down.

Everyone stared at him in silence.

Eventually, he looked up at them.

'What?'

No one really knew what to say.

What did you say to your friend who had practically disappeared for two weeks when he suddenly reappeared?

Piper spoke first. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

'Leo, are you okay?'

He looked at her as if he thought she was crazy. Or at least he tried to.

'What do you mean? I'm fine, just hungry! Got any more pizza?'

Wordlessly, Frank handed him a box with a third of a pizza still in it.

Piper rested her hand more firmly on Leo's arm.

'Leo, don't change the subject. You've been pretty much gone for two weeks. We left you messages, Jason went to the garage, I even went to your house! Your mom's worried, and so are we, and now that we've seen you, we're even more worried. You look-'

Leo spread his arms and grinned.

'Jeez, guys, I appreciate the concern, because it shows how much you all love me, which really shouldn't be hard since I'm da man, but I really don't need eight extra moms!'

They all looked uncertainly at him.

He sounded like Leo. He said things that Leo said. But he still didn't seem_ right_. Something was off.

By now, Leo had somehow managed to polish off most of the leftover pizza. A slice in each hand, he stood, mouth still full.

'Well, thanks for the pizza guys, it was great catching up and all, but I need to go. You don't get looks like mine without lots of beauty sleep!'

He winked at them and walked away.

Everyone watched him go with concern.

Frank spoke first.

'Who was that and what did he do with Leo?'

His attempt to cheer up the group did not work.

Percy looked around at his friends, concern etched across his face. (Considering how oblivious he was, it spoke volumes about how off Leo was.)

'Do you think we've got someone to beat up?'

Annabeth jogged him half-heartedly with her elbow.

'Percy, violence solves very, very few problems.'

But even as she chided him, it was obvious her mind was elsewhere, doubtlessly running through the possibilities. Looking at Frank, it appeared that he was doing the same.

Nico and Reyna looked somewhat uncomfortable. They were not as close to Leo as Frank, Percy, Hazel and Annabeth were, and nowhere near as close to him as Jason and Piper.

Piper, Jason and Hazel shared a glance.

Sometimes, the most strategic minds could miss things, because not everything was explicable. Sometimes, it was just a perception. A feeling.

Jason recognised it because he'd seen it with Nico. Hazel and Piper, as the more emotive of the girls, probably just had a knack for this stuff, Piper especially. She'd always been the best with this emotional stuff.

Leo was heartsick. He'd met someone, probably his soulmate, but something had happened.

They had to do _something_ about it.

They were his friends after all.

Jason spoke up.

'We've got to do something about Leo. We're his friends. We _have_ to.'

They all nodded resolutely, though Nico and Reyna were slightly more hesitant than the others.

Hazel spoke up quietly, her voice full of guilt.

'I don't think we've been the greatest friends lately. I mean, we've gotten so caught up in our own lives and relationships, so he's feeling very isolated...and maybe if we hadn't been, and we'd tried harder...he wouldn't be like _this_ now.'

She looked very downcast, and Frank put an arm around her, though his face also betrayed his guilt.

The others all looked down too, Piper, Jason and Percy feeling particularly guilty. Everyone except Reyna, that is, because while she might feel some guilt, she would not show it. Nico, too, seemed to be rather befuddled and a little annoyed at feeling guilty over Leo.

It was Piper that spoke up.

'Well, maybe we haven't been the best friends for Leo lately. But that's going to change. Tomorrow, we're all going over to his workshop, find out what's bothering him, and fix the problem.'

She fixed Nico and Reyna with a firm stare.

'And that includes you two. You're his friends too.'

Reyna simply gazed at Piper.

'Are you sure that's wise? Our presence may make him more uncomfortable and less inclined to talk.'

Annabeth took over from Piper.

'You've got a point, Reyna.'

Piper glared at her.

Frank spoke up.

'We should all go, but ask Leo if he wants to talk to all of us, or just some of us.'

Annabeth nodded in agreement.

'It's a sound plan, Frank. Then we can show we're all there for him, but also ensure that he won't be uncomfortable.'

Frank blushed.

Hazel smiled and nudged him as if to say _See? I told you so._

Jason looked around at all of them.

'So it's settled? We'll meet at Leo's workshop tomorrow morning at 10?'

They all nodded.

Leo was going to be okay.

They'd make sure of it.

* * *

'Leo?'

The Latino boy opened the door of his workshop (a partitioned-off section of his mother's garage) to find Piper and Hazel standing before him. Jason, Percy, Frank, Annabeth, and even Nico and Reyna were visible behind them.

Before he could say anything, Piper spoke.

'Leo, we know that something's wrong. You're not okay, and that's not okay with us, because you're our friend.'

Hazel crossed her arms. (Gods, she could actually be fierce and kind of scary when she wanted to be. Now he saw how she and Nico were related.)

'Spill.'

He looked uncomfortable.

Piper and Hazel's expressions softened.

'If you're not comfortable with talking to everyone, you can just talk to me, or Hazel. Or Jason, or Frank or Percy or anyone else if you want.'

'We're just worried about you, Leo.'

He sighed.

It was practically impossible to say no to Piper or Hazel.

He opened the door wider and gestured into his workshop.

'Come on in.'

Hazel cocked her head to the left.

'Are you sure you want to tell everyone? Don't feel obligated just because we're all here, Leo.'

Leo rolled his eyes.

'If I tell one of you, word will get around. Might as well tell everyone at once.'

They all shuffled in.

Leo plonked himself down on a pile of scrap metal. (Only he could find that comfortable.)

'About two weeks ago, I was working on Festus.'

He gestured to a 5 foot long bronze robotic dragon on a bench in the corner.

'I was flying him around, but he went a little haywire and ended up flying into Ogygia Isles.'

Ogygia Isles was a rather swanky, expensive housing estate on the other side of town.

'Obviously, I chased after him, trying to get him back under control, but he crashed into a really fancy garden before I could stop him. Kind of almost blew up and set some of it on fire.'

Everyone winced.

Leo smiled wistfully.

'Next thing I know, this really hot girl is yelling at me and demanding I fix up her garden since I destroyed it.'

Jason, Piper and Hazel exchanged knowing looks.

Frank and Reyna sighed as if to say _here we go again._

Annabeth and Percy both looked thoughtful.

Leo continued his tale.

'She wouldn't let me leave until I swore I would.' Leo laughed, but there was a hint of bitterness to it. 'And the gods must have a stupid sense of humour, because it turns out we're soulmates.' His voice grew more wistful. 'She gave me an earful the next morning when I went to start fixing up her garden.' He grinned, but there was a sad note to it. 'She warmed up to me, though, over the next week.' Leo sighed and looked down. 'But then her crazy-strict parents found out about me, and they were _not_ happy. Apparently they don't approve of me at all and went nuts, grounded her and banned her from seeing me.' He took a deep breath. 'She told me to go and not come back.' He smiled sadly and spoke softer. 'She insisted that she still hates me...but I know she doesn't.'

After a moment's silence while they digested his story, Leo's friends erupted into chatter.

'We could contact the police-'

'That's absurd, it's not child abuse, they won't-'

'-Need to show that Leo's responsible and capable and a good future son-in-law-'

'-If we engineer-'

'-Get him to make a-'

'-How can they stand in the way of true love?'

'-If we just encourage her to go against her parents-'

'-We don't want a Romeo and Juliet on our hands. It's not a good love story.'

Leo stared at his friends in shock.

'Wait, hold up, guys!'

They all fell silent and looked at him.

'You're...you're all willing to help me and Sunshine?'

'That's a really unusual name.'

Everyone stared at Frank, who shrugged, flustered.

'It was just an observation...'

Hazel shook her head and smiled affectionately, leaning against Frank's shoulder.

'It's...it's my nickname for her.'

Leo actually appeared to be blushing somewhat.

Piper reached out and placed her hand on Leo's arm.

'Of course we're all willing to help you! We're friends, and that's what friends do for each other!'

The others nodded resolutely.

Leo stared.

'Wow...thanks, guys. I...I just thought that you'd all be too couple-y and caught up in each other to help me out...'

Reyna and Nico glared at him.

Reyna spoke.

'What are we, plants?'

Leo looked sheepish.

'No, but it's just, well, you're Reyna and he's Nico and you're, well, kind of-'

Piper slapped his arm softly.

'Stop there, Repair Boy, before you dig yourself a grave.' She took a deep breath. 'Look, Leo, I know we've messed up a bit and given you the perception that you can't count on us, or that we don't care about you as much, or that you're an outsider because most of us are with our soulmates and you aren't. And we're sorry about that and we'll do our best to not do it again. But we _are_ your friends, Leo, and you_ can_ count on us. Let us in, and we'll help you.'

Hazel jumped up and flung her arms around him.

'_Please_ don't do that again, Leo. We were _so_ worried!'

Leo hugged her back hesitantly, glancing at Frank. The big guy did seem the jealous type...he was definitely the insecure type...but huh, he seemed fine with it. He must have gained some more confidence.

Hazel detangled herself from him, and sat back down next to Frank, who, surprisingly, spoke next, rubbing the back of his neck.

'My mom always says that sharing a problem makes it easier to carry.'

Leo looked around his circle of friends, who all looked determined to help him, even Reyna and Nico. He didn't feel like as much of a seventh or eighth or ninth wheel anymore. He didn't feel like as much of an outsider as before.

'Thanks, guys. I'm really, really touched.'

And unlike most of what he usually said, it was completely, totally heartfelt, without a hint of humour or sarcasm.

They all smiled.

Jason took out his phone and opened up a memo.

'Let's get planning.'

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a glance.

Percy spoke up, voice much softer than usual.

'Leo, is your soulmate's name Calypso by any chance?'

Leo and Percy exchanged a look which no one, save Annabeth, could read.

'Yes.'

'Is...is she okay about...me now?'

Leo nodded. When he spoke, he seemed angry at Percy.

'You know, you really hurt her, just disappearing like that.'

Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

'I'm not proud of that...but...I promise, Leo, I'll do anything to help you two. You both deserve to be happy.'

Leo stared at him for a moment, before his face broke out into a wan smile, which slowly widened.

'You make it really hard to be angry at you, you know.'

'We good?'

Leo nodded.

'We're good. She on the other hand...'

Percy winced.

'Yeah, I probably deserve to be slapped.'

Everyone else, except Annabeth, stared at the two in immense confusion.

Percy looked around at the quizzical faces his friends sported, and sighed.

'When I was 15, before Annabeth and I got together, I pretty much met Calypso by accident...and she kind of developed a crush on me...' He looked apologetically at Annabeth, whose grey eyes turned steely for a moment. '...Which was kind of mutual...but after a little while, I sort of just disappeared on her and never contacted her or saw her again...because, well...' He glanced at Annabeth. 'I was in love with Wise Girl.'

Percy leant over and whispered something in Annabeth's ear. She squeezed his hand, and her eyes calmed completely. She smiled.

'I know, Seaweed Brain.'

Everyone smiled fondly at them. Nico's smile came out as more of a grimace, and a look of pain flashed across his face. Jason definitely caught it, as did Reyna. She made a mental note to talk to Nico later.

Percy smiled at everyone.

'Well, it's the past now. We need to look to the future. How are we going to help Leo and Calypso, everyone?'

(Despite his kelp for brains, even Annabeth had to admit that Percy occasionally did say something intelligent or profound.)

* * *

AN: Or, what I wish happened in HoO, but understandably, didn't, because of the whole saving-the-world bit taking priority. Though, I guess some of it happened off-screen or in certain moments (the Leo/Hazel and Percy/Leo conversations, most notably.) I envision that there'll be a few chats about this when Leo finds his way home again with Calypso.


	13. Chapter 13

His phone rang.

Frank looked up from his Calculus homework.

Unlike most teenagers, he was not terribly dependent on his phone, and nowhere near addicted to it.

(Interestingly, all of his friends were not incredibly interested in modern mobile phone technology.)

Hence, he tended to leave it on while studying.

People rarely called or texted him anyway.

He picked it up, glancing at the caller ID.

Hazel.

He answered.

'Hi, Hazel.'

Her voice was shaky as she replied.

'Frank, can you please come over? Now? I...It's...it's to do with what I left behind in New Orleans...'

Dread pooled in his stomach.

She sounded scared.

Could...could the gang that killed her mother have decided to target her?

Or...or had had the man who'd killed her decided to get revenge on Hazel?

Shouting to his grandmother that he was going out (good manners be damned, even if he was going to get a lecture for it later, Hazel needed him), he grabbed his phone, wallet and a jacket and ran.

* * *

Nico answered the door, after carefully looking through the peephole to ascertain his identity.

He looked anxious and angry.

'She's in the living room.'

Frank had barely stepped inside the house when Hazel barrelled into him and flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

'Thank you.' Her voice was shaky, but she sounded as if she was thanking him for giving her the world.

He hugged her back, and tried for a light tone.

'Your wish is my command, milady.'

She didn't laugh, but she looked up and gave him a wan smile.  
He returned it, hesitantly.

'Hazel...what's happened?'

She bit her lip, and led him into the living room, pulling him onto the couch. Nico followed, but did not sit, pacing instead.

'The...the man who killed my mother, he goes by Alcyoneus, the one that I...' She took a deep breath. 'The one that I...stopped...he...he's come out of his coma, and recovered...' She reached out and gripped Frank's hand so tightly that it hurt, but he didn't flinch. 'And...and he...he escaped from the hospital, even though he was under police guard...' Her voice grew softer, smaller. 'A policeman came, about an hour ago...and...and told me that they think he's come here...to...to...' She looked up at Frank, eyes fearful, tears welling in them. 'To...to get me.'

Red flashed across his vision.

_How dare_ that man try to hurt his Hazel! Frank would not allow it. _He would not._ He would kill the man with his own bare hands if that was what it took to keep her safe, he would...

He took a deep breath, and pulled back from those terrifying thoughts.

Nico, though, seemed to share similar beliefs, because he was pacing ferociously and muttering what sounded like threats under his breath.

Frank took another deep breath, and glanced down at Hazel, who was valiantly trying to fight back tears, curled into herself. Terrified, because at the end of the day, as strong and brave as she was, she was a fourteen-year-old girl with a full-grown man, a (former?) gang member, out to kill her.

He reached out and wrapped an arm around her.

'You're safe right now. We're going to keep you that way.'

Hazel burrowed further into him. He felt her tears wet his shirt.

'I thought I was safe here, Frank! The...the police told me that since I left New Orleans...and...and since..._Sammy _...the gang didn't care about me anymore...but now _he_ wants to get me...that's what he was telling his doctors...and...and apparently he isn't quite right in the head anymore because of what I...what I did...and...' Her voice grew softer, almost as if she was ashamed. 'I'm really scared, Frank.'

He held her even closer and rubbed her back, not caring that her brother was right there and might skin him alive later for it.

'Of course you are! But we've got you! Nobody's going to hurt you.'

Hazel sniffled, and started drying her tears.

'You're the best, Frank.'

He smiled wanly.

'Don't let Nico hear that.'

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face.

'From now on, you're not leaving your house or your school alone. Nico and I can walk you to and from school every day, I'm sure the others will be happy to walk with you in the mornings when I have archery practice...' He paused. 'Why haven't the police assigned you any protection or something?'

Nico rolled his eyes.

'They don't think he'll make it all the way to Olympus. He's on the run all the way from New Orleans.'

Frank felt irrationally angry at the police. This was their _job_, and they weren't doing it properly.

From Nico's tone, he agreed wholeheartedly.

'It's unwise to not consider and plan for all probable outcomes.'

A thought hit him. He took a deep breath, and spoke as gently as possible.

'Hazel, does...does your father know?'

She nodded slowly.

'Yes, because he's my guardian, he was notified...But, he's overseas at the moment...'

Nico scowled.

'As if that man cares. He won't come back, he's too busy spending time with his girlfriend and running his business. Maybe if we're lucky we'll get a Christmas card this year.'

His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

A spark of anger flashed across Hazel's face.

Frank knew that while her opinion of her father wasn't great either, she thought much better of him than Nico.

But she didn't say anything.

Instead, she simply reached for Frank again, laying her head on his chest, her breathing still shakier than usual.

Frank held her close, and Nico sat down on her other side, running his hands through her hair.

They stayed there for a while, until Hazel's breathing steadied and slowed, and she started snoring lightly.

The two young men exchanged a glance over the top of her head.

_He's not going to hurt her. I won't let him._

* * *

AN: Please don't kill me...


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Well, the response to the last chapter was...interesting. Just kidding, I love you guys! Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too! On another unrelated note, my exam timetable was released today...and I am not looking forward to two three-hour exams on the same day, one at 8:30 in the morning, and one at 5:15, ending at 8:30...

* * *

Hazel laughed as she and Frank walked on the sidewalk, along the edge of the park, on their way to her house.

'So Dakota got drunk on red Kool-Aid? Isn't that impossible?'

Frank nodded, grinning.

'Well, I don't think _drunk_ is the right word for it, but with the amount of sugar that was in that...I'm surprised he only declared his undying love for Gwen in the form of song.'

Hazel shook her head, still giggling.

'I wish I'd seen that.'

It was incredible, he thought, how she could keep going even though her life was under threat. _He _was nearly having kittens. Somehow, though, instead of making him feel even more inadequate for her, it almost seemed to lend him strength.

'Oh, the aftermath was even better.'

Hazel's eyes lit up.

'Oh, what did she do?'

'She pushed him into the swimming pool. Then jumped in and kissed him.'

Hazel laughed louder.

'Oh, my. Why is it that we don't know any _normal_ pairs of soulmates?'

Frank smiled, but cocked his head to the left in mock-thought.

'I don't know, Jason and Piper are pretty normal...'

She raised an eyebrow.

'Remember last Friday?'

They both laughed at the memory.

Lost in their memories and amusement, Hazel ended up about five metres further along the path than Frank.

And moments later, a figure in dark clothing stepped out of the shadows, clapped a hand over her mouth, and dragged her off the path.

Frank heard a horrible, guttural sound.

Was that _him_?

Somehow, he found himself at the spot where Hazel disappeared seemingly instantly, and what felt like a second later, watching a man (Alcyoneus for sure) injecting the struggling girl with the contents of a syringe.

He saw _red_.

And for the first time, he didn't try to fight it.

Barely aware of what he was doing, he seized the man by the throat, pulling him away from Hazel, who fell with a thump to the thankfully-soft ground.

He thrust him into a tree, hands still around his throat.

Alcyoneus struggled, but he was weak from years spent in a coma and in hospital, and Frank was young and at least as strong as he looked, if not more.

He must have seen Hazel with Frank, he must have seen him, but he was a fool. And certainly not right in the head.

A very quiet, very small voice in Frank's head tried to tell him to stop, because he was choking him and if he didn't stop, he would die...but couldn't penetrate the red haze.

Alcyoneus grew still. Frank's grip on his neck loosened ever so slightly.

Moments later, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg.

Alcyoneus was perhaps righter in the head than he gave him credit for.

The knife in his leg, however, didn't dispel or even reduce the _red _that surrounded Frank.

Instead, he kneed the man in the stomach, producing a satisfying groan of pain, and delivered a right hook to his jaw with a loud crack.

He allowed the man to collapse onto the ground in a heap, and still under the influence of all that red, prepared to dish out some punishment on the man who _dared _to hurt _his_ Hazel.

'Frank?'

Hazel, frighteningly pale, voice frail and weak, reached a hand out towards him, before she collapsed into a dead faint.

He came crashing down to Earth. The red mist that surrounded him faded instantly.

_Oh, gods, Hazel!_

He reached into his pocket, drew out his phone, and dialled 911, kneeling down frantically beside her, trying to recall what little he knew of first aid as he did so.

Alcyoneus lay forgotten on the ground, completely unconscious.

* * *

Frank sat by Hazel's bed, watching her breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out.

He ran a hand over the stitched-up, bandaged knife wound in his leg. He'd refused to allow himself to be consigned to a hospital bed, insisting that he stayed with Hazel.

She was okay. She was going to be okay. She'd been given an antidote. She was going to be okay.

On Hazel's other side sat Nico, still, silent, eyes on Hazel.

Their other friends had not been allowed to stay with Hazel; they'd stayed in the waiting room until the doctors and nurses had kicked them out. Now, they were all at Percy's, just like every other Friday night.

Frank scoffed. This was not a usual Friday night.

Hazel was in _hospital_, for gods' sake.

He kept watching her, as if scared she would stop breathing if he did.

Until she woke up, heck, until she got out of the darn hospital, he wouldn't stop worrying.

Watching Nico, he knew the other boy shared his feelings, but neither of them felt like speaking. They just sat and watched Hazel.

Until Frank spoke.

'I'm sorry, Nico.'

The other young man looked up.

'You saved my sister. I should be thanking you.'

Frank scoffed, and ran a hand through his short hair.

'I shouldn't have let her get ahead of me... I should have been closer...I shouldn't have let him...you know...'

Nico affixed him with a steady, dark stare. The same resoluteness that Hazel had whenever she was trying to get him to have more confidence in himself was there.

'You're human, Frank. You can't do everything.' He smiled a faint ghost of a smile. 'Besides, can you imagine Hazel's reaction if we didn't let her out of our reach?'

Frank smiled wanly.

Nico continued.

'You saved my sister, Frank. That's what matters.' Nico's smile widened. 'I'm going to be flower boy at your wedding, right?'

Frank blushed bright red, and completely flustered, rubbed the back of his head and muttered something that Nico didn't hear and he wouldn't remember afterwards.

A horrible doubting voice, however, spoke up in the back of his mind.

_If there is ever going to be a wedding...she saw, you know. She saw what you did. She knows what you can do. You broke his jaw. You bruised his ribs. You left those horrible welts on his neck. You're why he's in a ward under police guard right now, and not in a jail cell. You enjoyed it. You felt satisfied that you hurt him. You are a terrible person._

Another voice spoke up.

_And that feeling of satisfaction scared you. You hated the fact that you felt that way. You still do. You're still beating yourself up for it. The police said it was clearly self-defence anyway, and you almost begged to be arrested, the policeman said so himself._

_But you don't regret doing it. You don't regret nearly killing that man, hurting him, choking him. You don't regret nearly beating him even though he was unconscious. You know you would have, if she didn't stop you..._

_Of course you don't regret it! You acted to save her, to protect her! She means so, so much to you, of course you'd act that way! And you stopped. You stopped. That's what's important._

_She won't care about that. All she'll care about is that you almost killed a man before her eyes. And she'll never look at you that way again, never look at you with affection or kindness or love, as if you're her hero or knight in shining armour. She'll look at you with fear or disgust._

_No, she won't! You talked about it, you really, really did. She knows. She understands. She accepts. She does love you, and she won't stop because of this._

_Didn't you see the look in her eyes, you fool? When she said your name, back in that park? There was fear in her eyes. Fear. _

The other voice was silent for a moment.

_She loves you._

The words seemed hollow, a weak defence.

A knot of dread building in his stomach, mixing with the weight of guilt he'd felt since the fateful moment earlier that day (had it really only been a few hours?), Frank kept watching Hazel, turning his thoughts back to her. He reached out and held her hand.

Hopefully not for the last time.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night that Hazel's eyes fluttered open.

Nico and Frank, by privilege of being her brother and her soulmate respectively, had been allowed to spend the night in Hazel's room. (Since she was fourteen and her father was not there and she'd just been poisoned by the man who' killed her mother- the doctors decided they should be there when she woke up.)

Nico had curled up into a hard hospital chair in the corner, fast asleep. He looked younger asleep, Frank thought.

Frank himself was exhausted and sleepy, but he could not sleep. He just sat there by Hazel's bedside, holding her hand, wracked with guilt and fear.

When her eyes opened, for a moment, those feelings were replaced with joy and concern.

'Hazel? You're awake! Are you okay? Do you want me to call the doctor, or a nurse? Are you in any pain? Oh gods, I was so worried, and so was Nico, he's there in the corner, would you like me to wake him?'

Hazel smiled softly.

'When he sleeps, he sleeps like the dead. You would have a lot of trouble waking him. I'm okay, Frank, really.' She turned to him, eyes serious, and...worried. Scared.

Fear and guilt returned with a vengeance.

'I'm...I'm so sorry, Hazel. I'm...I'm so sorry for...for...for...' He forced himself to say it. 'For choking him. For breaking his jaw. For nearly beating him while he was unconscious. For...for trying to kill him. I...I went too far...and...and I'm sorry for scaring you. I...I understand if you never want to see me again, just, please...get Nico to text me or something when you get out of hospital, just so that I know you're okay-'

'Frank! Frank, stop that!'

Hazel was admonishing him.

Frank stopped, mostly in shock.

That was_ not_ the reaction he expected.

'We talked about this, Frank. You're kind and gentle and noble and good. You're a good person.'

'I thought...when...when you...I thought you were _scared_ of me.'

She shook her head, smiling sadly.

'No, Frank, I was scared _for_ you. If you had...if you had continued...I was so scared of how you might feel, the guilt you would feel...'

He relaxed significantly, that knot of dread unwinding and disappearing.

She wasn't scared of him; she was scared _for_ him, because he _mattered_ to her. She still wanted to be with him. Dare he think it, she still loved him.

Almost all of the tension disappeared from his body. Almost all of it.

She probably shouldn't have tried to sit up, but she did, and reached over to embrace him. There was sadness in her eyes, as if she'd realized that something had changed in him.

Frank knew it too. He would never be the same. Not after this. Not completely.

Some of his innocence had died.

He'd carry the guilt around for the rest of his life. It would be his burden.

Hazel seemed to sense that thought. She held him tighter, and whispered in his ear.

'You stopped. That means a lot.'

The burden of guilt felt lighter.

He nodded slowly, taking a deep breath, then another, embracing her back as gently as he could.

'And regardless, you're still my knight-in-shining-armour. My Frank.'

He wanted to hold her tighter, to show her what those words meant, but he was far too fearful of hurting her. He settled for pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She seemed to get the message.

He had changed.

But he _was_ still him.

Still Frank.

* * *

AN: I don't know if Frank would get in legal trouble, just like I don't know if Hazel would over her actions to defend her mother. I'm not a lawyer, nor a law student. Please just roll with it?


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Over 50 reviews! Thanks, guys! My real life is exhausting; being a Science major is hard work! (Apparently, my university has a reputation for working students very hard, I should have expected it!) I haven't written anything in at least a month, so when I've finished all the chapters of Elephants and Strings of Fate...there might not be any more for a while...On the other hand, winter break commences in about a month and a half...so we'll see...

* * *

It was Sunday.

Two days since...since _it _happened.

Hazel was feeling much better, and she was going to be discharged on Wednesday, maybe Tuesday if she was lucky.

Frank and Nico were decidedly worse for the wear, mostly because they had essentially not left the hospital, apart from going home briefly for a shower and a change of clothes on Saturday, since Hazel's admission.

(Though, Frank _was _glad he left her side for that period of time. He was starting to smell rather bad, and he'd also managed to catch a phone call from his mother, and talking to her definitely helped with everything that had happened. He would be okay. He would be more than okay.)

Currently, Frank, Nico and Hazel sat in her room.

Their friends had left, as visiting hours were over, but the flowers, chocolates and stuffed panda bear (a gift from Leo- Frank was sure he was making fun of him, but Hazel absolutely loved it) beside her bed served as a reminder of their presence.

Frank and Nico were currently playing Mythomagic on the large tray/table that Hazel had eaten her lunch on.

(Or at least tried to; she was still nauseous.)

Suddenly, they heard raised voices in the corridor.

'...I shouldn't allow you to see her, gods know why you're here now, and only now! You know, her brother and her soulmate have been with her the whole time; they've barely left her side, and you're only here now! I shouldn't let you!'

That was Demeter, the rather formidable nurse who was in charge of Hazel's care.

'I'm her father.'

Nico and Hazel exchanged a glance, full of too many emotions for Frank to comprehend. Biting his lip, he reached out and took Hazel's hand, squeezing it gently.

A man in a dark suit entered. He had dark eyes, and dark hair and very pale skin.

'Father.'

Hazel bobbed her head in acknowledgement. Nico ignored him.

Frank started to stand to leave, but Hazel squeezed his hand.

'Stay, please.'

He did.

Hazel's father glanced at him, and Frank felt a shiver go down his spine. He desperately wanted to shrink, or become invisible. He felt his cheeks grow warm.

Hazel's father turned away, dismissing Frank as a matter of importance for the moment.

'I see you are recovering nicely, Hazel.'

She nodded slowly.

'No thanks to you.'

Nico's voice was full of venom.

He moved to leave, but Hazel reached out and grabbed his arm with her free hand.

She looked imploringly at him.

'_Please_, Nico, hear him out.'

Frank glanced at Hades, wondering how he would react to being spoken about as if he were not present, shut out and ignored.

He looked like he expected it.

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Suddenly, he looked more like Nico had when he'd joined their friend group (and still did sometimes)- like he felt utterly out of place, and utterly undeserving of being in their presence, unsure of how to act or what to do.

'I know, Nico.'

His voice sounded unbearably guilty.

Frank felt Hazel relax, her demeanour softening.

Nico crossed his arms.

'Where were you?' He stepped closer to his father. 'Where were you when Hazel was _unconscious_ on this very bed?' His voice cracked. 'Where were you when _death threats_ were being made against her? Where were you her _entire life_?' Nico's voice grew angrier and angrier, and more and more pain-filled as he spoke. 'Where were you when Bianca...when _Bianca _passed? Where were you when _Mom_...when Mom was sick? Where were you when she passed? _Where were you_?'

Hades had no response. He looked as if he'd been slapped, repeatedly.

Nico continued, poison and bitterness in his voice.

'You've _never_ been here for either of us. You've never been here for anyone in your life, anyone who should be_ important_ to you.' He shook his head. 'No, you've only been there every now and then to criticise, to praise every now and then.' He raised his chin defiantly. 'Well, I'm sorry your favourite child is dead, but you don't have to suffer your disappointment of a son any longer. From this day onwards, I refuse to consider you my father.'

Nico made for the door. Hazel did not try to stop him, though tears pooled in her eyes. Frank squeezed her hand, and placed his other hand on her arm.

Hades grabbed his son's wrist. Nico visibly flinched at the contact.

'Nico, _please._' The boy paused. 'I know I have been a terrible father. I know I have made many mistakes. I _have_ been absent and distant and am not worthy to be your father.' He took a deep breath. 'But...those I care about, those close to me, are rarely happy. I want you, you and Hazel, to be exceptions.'

Hades looked his son in the eye, then his daughter.

'Please, let me talk to you. Let us talk, really, really talk. I have much to explain.'

Hazel and Nico exchanged a glance.

Hazel nodded, wiping away her tears.

'Okay. Let's talk.'

Nico, still scowling, sat down.

'This is your last chance. I'm not as forgiving as Hazel.' He seemed to be biting back a _not that you would know._

Frank took that as a cue to leave. He felt this conversation was one that the di Angelo/Levesque family had to have on their own. With a quick glance at Hazel for confirmation, and a hopefully comforting squeeze of her hand, he left.

* * *

'Frank, should I go to Italy with my father for a month at the start of summer?'

Frank nearly choked on the brownie he was eating.

Hazel, who was arranging the rest of the brownies they'd baked on the plate, eyed him worriedly.

He swallowed, and gave her a thumbs up to indicate he was alright.

Over the last month since her discharge from hospital, Hazel's relationship with her father had improved dramatically. Even Nico's relationship with their father had improved significantly.

(The conversation in Hazel's hospital room had really helped. Hazel told him that her father had apologized for many of the bad decisions he had made. Especially importantly to her, he had apologized for rendering her mother bitter and resentful, though he had gently explained that he could not apologize for choosing to return to Nico, Bianca and Maria. Hazel did not hold that against him anyway. He had tried to explain how he had felt, and why he had distanced himself from them. Apparently, he and Nico were more alike than they cared to admit, with both of them refusing to form close relationships as they felt they did not deserve friendship or love.)

But it was definitely nowhere near ideal-advertising-family good.

And it really wasn't good enough to go travelling to a foreign country for a month. While Hazel and her father could likely be civil to one another for the whole trip, at the very least, Hades and Nico were a whole other story.

Frank took another brownie, broke it in half, and handed half to Hazel.

He chose his words carefully.

'Well, on one hand, travel can be a bonding experience and can bring people closer together. Italy was your father's and Nico's mother's home country, right?'

Hazel nodded.

'So maybe that will bring Nico and your father closer together. However, on the other hand, well...do you and Nico really want to be stuck with him for a month? Do you want to be stuck with Nico and your father _together_ for a month?'

Hazel smiled wryly. There were bound to be _many _arguments when those two were stuck in close quarters.

'I know.' She sighed. 'Maybe I'm being naive, but I really want to go and have a big family vacation, a big trip with just the three of us all together. I think it might help, and he's making such an effort, and I feel like maybe he really has changed, or at least changed his mind.' She sighed again, and Frank covered her hands with one of his own. 'But I'm worried, what if it all blows up in our faces? What if we go and find out that he hasn't really changed? And Nico doesn't really want to go. I mean, he's always wanted to go to Italy...just not with our father. But he's said he's in if I'm in.' She smiled. 'He's an incredible brother.'

Frank nodded, remembering the hours he and Nico had spent by Hazel's bedside.

'Yes, he is.'

'But I don't want him to go just because of me. If we're going to go, he should want to go too!'

Frank rubbed the back of his head.

This was a tricky one.

He was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts, unconsciously running his thumb over Hazel's hand.

'I think you should take the risk. It does appear that your father has changed; perhaps he has not, though you can't be sure yet. It does appear that he and Nico can be civil towards one another, though you won't know how long they can do that or whether they will get any closer until that is tested. It is foolish to take a risk blindly, but equally foolish to not take a calculated risk.'

Hazel nodded, a small smile growing on her face.

'There_ is_ no reward without risk. Was that Sun Tzu, by the way?'

Frank blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

'Umm, no...that was Frank Zhang actually.'

She smiled up at him and kissed him on the cheek.

'Very wise.'

He grinned, cheeks still pink.

'Did it help?'

She nodded.

'I'll discuss it with Nico, but I think even he will agree.' She grinned. 'You know, deep down, he wants that perfect fairytale ending too, even if he insists that it's stupid and unrealistic and overrated.'

A year ago, Frank would have disagreed.

But now, having seen a whole new side of Nico di Angelo, he was inclined to agree.

'You know, I've heard they have really good gelato in Italy. You'll have to try some for me.'

Hazel laughed.

'Is ice-cream all you think about?'

He smiled and kissed her on the nose.

'You know it's not.'


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I rather like this chapter...what about you guys?

* * *

Nico glanced over at his sister, who was sitting at the desk in their shared hotel room in Rome, voice-calling Frank on Skype. She appeared to be describing a sketch of the Coliseum she'd done earlier that day for him. (They had attempted video calling in the first few days of the trip, but the lag was atrocious and it was so terribly blurry that they'd given up.)

He sighed, quietly, so that he could be sure she would not hear.

Should he tell her?

Should he tell her his big secret?

Tell her about his sexuality?

He sighed again.

It probably wasn't a question of _should _anymore.

Jason knew.

Reyna knew. (She'd worked out something was off about him not long after he told Jason, and in typical Reyna fashion, confronted him.)

Piper...well, Piper certainly suspected something. She probably knew, just because she had a knack for these things.

And he'd told Percy and Annabeth just before they'd left, simply because he had to get it off his chest. (Keeping a secret for so long was simply unbearable.) Besides, it'd been a good time. He was going to be gone for a whole month. He could ignore all of his friends for a whole month, with minimal guilt and need to explain.

Nico glanced down at his phone, looking at the two Facebook messages he'd discovered when he'd arrived at the hotel, fresh off the flight from the US.

One from Annabeth, one from Percy.

_Nico, I hope your journey went well and you've arrived safely._

_You were very, very brave to reveal your homosexuality to Percy and me. I want you to know that I wholeheartedly support you, and if anyone gives you any trouble, please inform me (or any of our other friends for that matter) and we will help you in any way we can._

_I'm extremely sorry that we essentially gave up on you as our friend a few years ago. We all made mistakes that time; you pushed us away, but we also didn't push back. We should have been there for you, and we should have refused to let you push us away. For that, I'm sorry. _

_But it is unwise to get caught up in the past. This time around, I think I speak for both Percy and myself when I say that we're going to be better friends to you. You're not getting away from us again, so don't you dare push us away again!_

_I promise that I won't tell anyone until you decide to tell them. It's your decision. I'll make sure Seaweed Brain keeps his blabbermouth shut._

_Oh, and fair warning- Piper might have worked it out by now, but if you tell her, she'll probably force you to come along to our 'bitch about men' nights. (Even though that doesn't make much sense, since regardless of who you are attracted to, you are still a man...but sometimes logic isn't Piper's strong suit. Don't worry; they're not terribly frequent anyway.)_

_Anyway, have a nice trip! The architecture in Italy is just spectacular, you'll find some prime examples of...Well, I'm probably boring you. _

_Annabeth_

_P.S: If Seaweed Brain hasn't messaged you or has said something insensitive, tell me. I'll make sure he gets a few good-quality head-slaps._

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT YOUR TYPE? I THOUGHT I WAS EVERYONE'S TYPE!_

_But seriously, man, I'm cool with it. Like whether you like girls or guys or both or neither or whatever, it's fine with me. Love is love. And you're still grumpy, kind of anti-social, wears-black-everywhere-but-has-a-heart-of-gold Nico di Angelo anyway, whoever you're into._

_And no hard feelings about you crushing on me. I'm supremely attractive, after all. As long as you're not trying to steal me away from Annabeth, I'm good. :P_

_And yeah, I've had a think about it, and I was a pretty shitty friend to you all those years ago. I shouldn't have let you push me away like that. We shouldn't have let you. I'm really sorry, Nico, and I promise to try and make up for it! (I'll come meet you at the airport and bring you some blue welcome home cake! That is, if that's what you'd like...)_

_And yeah, don't worry, I won't be telling anyone if you don't want me to. (You don't want me to, right?)_

_Anyway, have fun in Italy, and say hi to Hazel from me, okay?_

_P.S: Please tell Wise Girl I sent this, or she'll hit me and it'll hurt. Please?_

_(We're good, right?)_

He'd messaged Percy back with a 'we're good', and sent a brief message to Annabeth in reply.

He wasn't really completely over Percy, but his crush had definitely faded, while his friendship with both Percy and Annabeth had greatly improved.

Things were looking up on that front.

Nico sighed again.

But Hazel still didn't know.

She was his sister, and she still didn't know.

Hazel was probably his best friend, too, in a way (if your sister could be your best friend). She knew almost everything else about him; she was usually his number one confidant.

She knew about Bianca and his mother and his feelings towards their father...but she didn't know _this_.

He felt terrible for keeping it from her, particularly when he'd told some of their friends already...but he couldn't bring himself to tell her.

He could handle his friends rejecting him.

He _couldn't_ handle Hazel rejecting him.

She was his _sister._ She was probably the only person in this life that he genuinely _loved_ right now. She was almost all of the good and light in his life (Though, the proportion she represented was decreasing slowly. Not that she was becoming less good or less important to him, but because he was slowly coming to value the others more and more as his friends.)

But if she didn't accept him for who he was...he didn't know _what_ he would do.

A voice that sounded like Bianca and Hazel at the same time admonished him.

_She's your sister! She loves you! She's kind and accepting and you know that she's not going to reject you because you're into guys! Do you really think she cares? You're her brother, and that's what you've always been! It won't change a thing about how she sees you!_

Nico sighed again, running a hand through his hair and flopping back onto his bed.

He did _know_ that.

But since when were feelings and fears rational?

'Nico, are you okay?'

He blinked, and found Hazel's concerned face looming over him.

_Shit._

He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts, that he didn't even notice her saying goodbye to Frank and paying attention to him.

Well, it _did _force his hand.

Perhaps it was the push he needed.

He sat up, and took her hands, looking her in the eye.

'Hazel...I have something to tell you.'

She sat down beside him, eyes earnest, a little concerned.

'You can tell me anything, Nico.'

He sighed.

'Hazel...I...I had a crush on Percy.'

Her eyes widened.

'You mean you're-'

He interrupted her. Somehow, he felt like he had to say it himself.

'Yes, I'm gay.'

He winced.

He hadn't meant for that ashamed note to come through.

(The path to self-acceptance was a_ long_ one.)

Hazel gave him a long, scrutinising look, with a hint of disapproval.

His stomach did flips.

Was she disapproving because he sounded ashamed of himself (Hazel _would _be upset because of that) or was she disapproving because he was what he was?

Then she smiled.

He let out the breath he'd been holding.

'Well, who else knows?'

That was _not_ the response he'd expected.

'What?'

Hazel let go of his hands, and flung her hands up in the air.

'So I can talk to them about who your type might be, so we can introduce you if we meet someone who might be your soulmate!'

Still in shock, Nico replied numbly.

'Well, Jason and Reyna know, and I think Piper might...and so do Percy and Annabeth.'

Hazel's face fell. When she spoke, her voice sounded hurt.

'You mean you told almost everyone else before me? I'm your sister!'

The guilt was back with a vengeance.

Part of him wanted to say that Leo and Frank didn't know yet, so she wasn't last, but he didn't.

Instead, he nodded, looking down before meeting her eyes again.

'Yes.' He took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry, Hazel, I really am...but I was so scared of what you might think...of how you might react...'

Hazel frowned and poked him hard in the chest.

'You shouldn't have been. You're my brother, you've always been here for me, and nothing changes that._ Please_ don't be ashamed of who you are. You're the _best_ brother I could hope for.'

And she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He returned her hug, feeling lighter and happier than he'd felt for a long time.

'You're the best, Hazel.'

He felt her smile, and answered it with one of his own.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: This story is coming to a close, just one more story in the main arc, and one bonus chapter left!

* * *

Frank grinned as he piled into Esperanza Valdez's van with Leo and Reyna. (Percy, Annabeth, Jason and Piper were in Sally's car.)

Hazel and Nico were coming home today. They'd be landing at the airport in about an hour.

They all wanted to go and meet the siblings at the airport, though perhaps for slightly different reasons.

Frank, obviously, had really missed Hazel (talking on the computer was just _not_ the same), but Percy and Annabeth seemed rather anxious to see Nico for some reason. Percy had brought along a blue cake, and refused to let any of them eat it. Apparently, it was for Nico.

As they pulled onto the highway, Leo elbowed Frank none-too-lightly in the stomach.

'Excited to see Hazel?'

He nodded, grinning.

'Of course! I haven't seen her for a whole month!'

Reyna shook her head, but her eyes were affectionate.

Leo smirked.

'Bet she won't be able to keep her hands off you.'

Frank grew bright red. He managed to choke out a response.

'Leo!'

Reyna whacked the Latino boy on the back of the head.

Frank_ had_ undergone a ridiculously fast-paced growth spurt in the month that Hazel had been away. Somehow, he'd grown three inches (Three inches! One morning, he'd woken up a whole two centimetres taller than when he went to sleep!), and lost the last of what his mother called 'puppy fat' that Coach Hedge's training (and Coach Apollo's and Coach Blofis') hadn't gotten rid of.

He'd had to buy a whole new wardrobe.

Piper had insisted on going shopping with him, and she'd forced him to purchase a dark green T-shirt that fitted him snugly, rather than the usual baggy clothes he preferred. (She'd commanded him to wear it today with a new pair of jeans.) She'd said it suited him just fine as he'd grown into his bulkiness, and reassured him that he hadn't changed, he was just 'more him'. (He wasn't sure whether she was referring to his physical change, or Alcyoneus. With Piper, you could never really tell about these things.)

Reyna must have hit him really hard, because Leo didn't rib Frank any more for the rest of the trip.

* * *

As they walked into the airport, Frank panicked. He crossed his arms self-consciously, and turned to his friends.

'Should I have brought her flowers? I mean, people buy flowers for this sort of occasion, right? Welcome home?'

Piper patted him gently on the back.

'It doesn't matter, Frank. All Hazel will care about is that you came to meet her here. She won't and doesn't care about flowers or anything else.'

The others all nodded in agreement, even Reyna.

Frank took a deep breath, and walked away to check the Arrivals board.

* * *

Hazel stepped into the Arrivals Hall, rubbing her eyes. It'd been a long journey home, but it'd been worth it. Italy was wonderful, and her relationship with her father had improved significantly. Nico and she were closer than ever, and even Nico and Hades were getting along better. Frank had been right about risks.

Speaking (or rather thinking) of Frank...she stared at the tall, Chinese-Canadian seventeen-year-old waving at her, grinning broadly.

She barely noticed all their friends standing beside him.

Was...was that her Frank?

What had_ happened_ to him?

He was even taller than he'd been when she'd left.

His shoulders were broader, and he was even more muscular than he'd been before.

And he seemed older, like his face matched the rest of him, and even handsomer than he'd been.

He seemed to stand and move with more confidence.

Hazel stared at him in amazement, actually coming to a standstill. She felt her face flush, and fanned herself vigorously, before half-running the rest of the distance towards him.

As she got nearer, she felt a stab of concern. What if he'd changed on the inside too? She hoped not; she very much liked him (loved him) as he was; sweet and gentle and klutzy and overly modest and a little awkward, nobler and braver than he'd ever admit, with this quiet confidence and leadership that was becoming more apparent.

Still, she grinned at him and threw her arms around him. He returned the gesture, practically lifting her off the floor in a bear hug.

'Welcome home!'

'It's good to be back. But...' Hazel let go of him and gripped his shoulders, staring at him in amazement (still). 'Frank, what _happened _to you?'

Slightly pink, he rubbed the back of his neck.

'I grew? It kind of happens a lot to boys my age...'

She was still staring at him.

'You look amazing! I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished!'

He turned completely red. He hadn't been this flustered in a long, long time. He thought his feet might melt the floor or something. He rubbed the back of his neck again.

'Well, I guess so. I am, uh, taller, definitely. I outgrew all my clothes and had to go buy new ones and it was really embarrassing because I managed to split a pair of pants...you probably don't want to hear about that, actually, sorry...'

His voice held a little doubt, a little awkwardness that was so typical of him.

Hazel stared at him. (It was becoming a habit.)

It was truly, completely incredible.

He'd changed so much physically, yet he was still the same where it really mattered.

He was still _her _Frank, klutzy and a little awkward and doubtful and always worried about messing up.

She liked that part of Frank, the gentle, modest, awkward, sweet bit. That was like essence of Frank. That really made him _him_.

She felt relieved, that little knot of tension and worry that had built up when she'd seen his incredible physical change easing. She'd feared for a moment that his personality had changed too, but it hadn't.

He seemed to interpret her continued silence as some kind of disapproval, because voice a little worried and doubtful, he spoke again, softly, so only she could hear.

'I haven't really changed inside...'

She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek (she had to stand on her tiptoes to do that now), squeezing his hand.

'I know.'

They shared a smile, before she went off to greet their other friends (it was _so _sweet of them to come all the way to the airport to receive her and Nico), Frank's hand still in hers.

* * *

Nico really needed some caffeine.

While his sister had been staring at Frank (he'd _really_ grown), he'd greeted their friends. Now, he was standing in line to purchase some coffee at McDonald's. He was thankful that his father had chosen to wait for them at a distance. While their relationship had improved, he didn't feel quite ready to introduce his father to his friends yet.

(And he wasn't quite sure he wanted to actually spend a period of time with Annabeth and Percy yet. He was pretty much completely over his crush; for some reason, actually bringing it out into the open and being able to discuss it with Hazel helped him to come to terms with his infatuation and move on more or less completely, but still...)

Someone bumped into him.

Nico turned, scowling.

In front of him stood a blond, tanned (and really handsome and fit, a little voice in his head told him. Nico quickly told it to shut up.) teenage boy, perhaps about sixteen years of age, holding a large soda.

He felt the base of the back of his neck burn.

He smiled apologetically at Nico.

'I'm really sorry, uh...'

'Nico. And it's okay.'

He had no idea why he told this stranger his name. He had no idea why he said it was okay. It just kind of slipped out.

(The fact that that smile made butterflies flutter in his stomach had nothing to do with it.)

The boy grinned, and oh, gods, Nico swore it was as dazzling as the sun. The butterflies started holding a rave inside of him.

'I'm Will, Will Solace.' The boy rubbed the back of his neck. It didn't seem like a normal sort of gesture for him. 'Actually, this is going to sound weird, but do you go to Olympus High? I only ask because I'm actually kind of in the middle of moving to Olympus, and I'm starting there in September, and I seriously don't know anyone...'

'I can show you around.'

Why_ did_ he say that? What was wrong with him? This boy had far too much of an effect on him to be healthy.

Will beamed, and Nico pretty much had his answer.

'Thanks!' He reached over to the counter, and scrawled a phone number onto a napkin. 'Here's my number. I'm really, really glad to have at least met someone nice before school starts. I'll see you around!'

Will swigged down the last of his soda, and still smiling at Nico, left McDonald's.

Nico waved back in return, but could only stare as Will left.

* * *

AN: I know that Will doesn't really seem himself (eg. Stubborn and thinking Nico's a bit of an idiot- loveable idiot, but still an idiot- and dragging him around...but this was sort of the best I could do. He'd need to actually be friends with Nico first before he can act like that!)


	18. Chapter 18

AN: We're almost at the end; there's one bonus chapter (prom) left after this!

* * *

Hazel smiled and leaned against Frank's shoulder as she watched her soulmate play Mythomagic with her brother.

'Dang it, I forgot about your Katobleps!'

Nico smirked.

'You know I have an Africanus Expansion pack, Zhang. That's the second time you've made that mistake.'

Frank rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

'You might be beating me in the Mythomagic tally, but if we gave chess a go...'

(No-one, save Annabeth, could beat Frank in chess. And even Annabeth had only a 40-50% win rate against him.)

'Not my game, Frank.' Nico smiled. 'But how about a rematch?'

'Play with each other's decks?'

Nico nodded.

'Why not? I could do with a challenge.'

Frank pouted.

Hazel slapped her brother lightly on the arm.

'Nico! Play nice!'

Nico frowned, but his eyes were light and teasing.

'How can I play nice when you're so obviously biased? You want him to win!'

Hazel shook her head, smiling.

'Nico, you both know that I'm not taking sides.'

Nico raised an eyebrow. Hazel _was_ sitting on _Frank's side_ of the game area.

However, before he could tease her about it, a rather hyperactive shirtless blur in red shorts flew past.

Leo ran through Piper's living room (thank the gods neither her father nor her father's assistant were home), carrying a tricked-out water gun.

'Save me! Anybody! Somebody!'

Frank, Hazel and Nico just stared.

His pleas made more sense when Calypso ran past a few seconds later, her white dress soaking wet and semi-transparent. They all turned away, rather flushed.

'Leo Valdez! You are _so _dead!'

Leo paused for just a second.

'Aww, I love you too, Sunshine!'

He glanced at his fuming girlfriend, before setting off again, running towards the kitchen. Calypso paused, shook her fists, and took off again towards the kitchen.

'You are full of it, Leo Valdez!'

Nico, Hazel and Frank just shared a glance.

'Maybe we should have our rematch outside.'

Nico nodded.

'Good idea, Frank.'

Hazel, too, nodded.

'We definitely don't want to walk in on them...err...making up again.'

She fanned her face, flustered from the memory.

* * *

Frank, Hazel and Nico set up the Mythomagic game outside.

Beside them, Reyna and Jason were having a conversation on the pool edge, discussing some plans for student government, even though it was _summer. _

Piper was swimming in the swimming pool. She swum up to Jason and Reyna, and splashed her soulmate with water.

Jason yelped.

She smiled at him.

'Jason...'

The blonde boy sighed, pulled off his shirt, and got into the pool.

Reyna shook her head.

'He's so whipped.'

Percy seemed to draw inspiration from Piper, because he seized a water gun that was lying on the floor and shot Annabeth (who was reading the newspaper) with it.

'Seaweed Brain!'

He flashed her a winning smile.

'Yes, Wise Girl?'

Moments later, Percy found himself in the swimming pool, fully clothed, spluttering.

'You deserved that.'

Annabeth stood on the pool edge, dripping wet, arms crossed, looking rather satisfied with herself for pushing him into the pool.

In response, Percy climbed out and dragged her in too.

'Pool party! Come on, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Reyna! And Leo and Calypso if you can hear me! The water's great!'

Annabeth simply rolled her eyes fondly at the swimmer. He would _never _change.

Hazel and Frank shared a glance. Hazel had her swimming suit on underneath her clothes, and Frank was wearing board shorts with his T-shirt. Besides, it was rather hot and sunny. They'd dry off quick enough.

Both smiling, without removing the rest of their clothes, they walked to the edge of the pool and slipped in.

'Come on, Nico! It'll be fun!'

Percy pouted at the younger boy.

Nico shook his head.

'Nah, I'm not really fond of the water anyway.'

Hazel smiled deviously, an odd look on her.

'He's meeting Will in half an hour and he wants to look good for his date, not sopping wet.'

Nico turned rather red.

'Hazel! It's not a date, we're just hanging out. Soulmates can just hang out with each other!'

From the looks on all of his friends' faces, they didn't believe him.

* * *

Emily Zhang smiled as she examined a photo that Frank had sent her.

It was of him, Hazel, and all of their friends, enjoying a sunny summer's day by what she was pretty sure was Piper's pool.

Her son (he had grown up so much while she was gone...), in a T-shirt and board shorts, was standing on the left side of the group, with Hazel (she really couldn't wait to meet her; from Frank's emails, she'd gathered that Hazel was a lovely girl and had been very good for him), also in a T-shirt and shorts, on his back. Both of them were grinning.

Annabeth and Percy (oh, their relationship was such a story...) stood side by side, his arm around her waist. Percy wore blue board shorts, of course, while Annabeth was in a modest blue and white striped bikini with a sarong. She also appeared to be jabbing an elbow into Percy's stomach, while he had his mouth open, doubtlessly saying something stupid.

Piper, in a green bikini, and Jason, in purple board shorts, were standing next to Percy and Annabeth. They actually looked like a normal teen couple, arms around each other's waists.

Reyna, in a purple one-piece, sat on the left side of the photo along with two boys that she'd never actually seen before. The dark-haired, pale one in the black T-shirt and shorts was Nico, certainly, while she was pretty sure that the blond tanned one in the yellow and red Hawaiian board shorts forcing sunscreen on Nico was Will, Nico's soulmate. (Frank had mentioned him in his last email.)

On the right side of the photo sat Leo, in flame-adorned board shorts, bickering with an exceptionally beautiful girl in a white dress, with a red bikini clearly visible underneath. Emily thought for a moment; this was Leo's soulmate, the girl with the really strict parents (oh, the plans that Frank told her his friends had concocted to 'rescue' her...she hadn't laughed so hard for a long, long time...). She had an unusual name...oh, Calypso. Her name was Calypso.

Emily smiled, allowing herself to reminisce about her son and all of his friends, to imagine what they might be up to.

She logged off the computer, and stood to return to duty.

She would see them, see Hazel, see _Frank_, soon.

Her deployment was almost over.

And they definitely had a lot of catching up to do.

Things had changed, for the better.

Besides, she thought, grinning, her son, her little baby elephant, had found his soulmate. He'd found love.

What mother didn't want to be there to see that?

* * *

AN: I have this weird headcanon in which Emily refers to Frank as her baby elephant. Firstly because of the whole shape-shifting thing, secondly because Frank is kind of like a baby elephant- clumsy, awkward, unsure of his own strength and absolutely adorable!


	19. Chapter 19

AN: And here's the very last chapter! I have exams for the next couple of weeks, but after that, I'll try and get back into writing; I've got a couple of ideas for Strings of Fate at least. I'm afraid there's no promises, though.

* * *

Piper glanced at her reflection in the mirror, making sure that the small peacock feather in her up-do was properly attached so that it didn't fall out.

Tonight was Prom Night.

Even a girl like her who normally didn't go all crazy about typical high school girl stuff was excited.

(It was her first Prom, since she was a Junior after all. And she was going with Jason, her incredibly amazing boyfriend and soulmate.)

Her phone beeped.

Piper bent over and picked it up from her dresser, opening up the message.

It was from Hazel.

Piper smiled.

Of course. The Freshman was quite nervous about Prom, understandably so. Prom fever, and hence Prom nerves got to everyone, even normally rational girls like Annabeth, and ones who didn't care much about social conventions like Piper and Hazel.

It was probably worse for her because she would probably be the only Freshman there.

_Piper- do I look okay?_

Hazel had attached a photo of herself from the waist up.

Piper grinned and sent a reply.

_Yes, of course you look beautiful! Frank will be absolutely, utterly speechless when he sees you!_

Piper sighed. Those two were so adorable.

Prom always made everyone keen to impress their date, even if said date was their soulmate who definitely loved them regardless. It was a feeling that Piper knew all too well, and knew both Hazel and Frank were feeling too. (Hazel's text message wasn't the only one she'd received lately; Frank had sent her one two days ago absolutely freaking out about his suit and one a couple of weeks before over what corsage to get Hazel. Piper imagined Hazel would find that story utterly adorable when Frank inevitably told her within the week.)

Nico hadn't been very happy about Hazel going to Prom. He'd insisted that she was far too young to attend such an event. (He ignored them when they pointed out that he, who was only a year older, was going to Prom with Will. They all knew he wanted to go with him, even if he insisted that Solace had practically forced him into it.)

Apparently, Hazel and Nico's father hadn't been very happy with it either, but hadn't voiced the opinion, though both the siblings could tell. Piper was pretty sure that was because he didn't feel as if he were allowed to make such judgements about Hazel's life yet.

(It was probably a good thing, Piper thought, since Frank had pretty much been sweating bullets and a complete wreck after formally meeting Hazel's father for the first time.)

Piper was of the opinion that they were being ridiculous.

Sure, stuff happened on Prom Night that was most certainly not age-appropriate for Hazel.

But Frank and Hazel (and their whole group for that matter) weren't going to any after-parties. They were going back to Percy's place in the shared limo they'd rented for an after-Prom snack prepared by Sally. (They'd decided that post-Prom parties were a little too wild for most of them.)

Hazel's clothing was completely age-appropriate. Her dress was a Fifties-style cream one, with gold stripes. It just covered her knees, had cap sleeves, and a neckline that barely revealed the top of her collarbone. From the photo, Piper could see that she'd done her hair in a bun, and put on only really light makeup- foundation, clear lip gloss and a little bit of gold eye shadow. Piper really couldn't see how any ordinary brother or father could complain about that.

She was going with a whole group of friends who would definitely keep her safe. (As if she needed that with Frank as her date/boyfriend/soulmate; Piper swore he was like a mama bear in regards to Hazel sometimes.)

And the main point: she was going with _Frank_.

Who would probably punch someone if they tried to do something inappropriate to her.

And who would sooner cut off his own arm than take advantage of her.

Yes, Piper concluded, Nico and his father were being absolutely paranoid.

Though, it _was_ rather sweet.

* * *

Frank stared at Hazel when she answered the door when he arrived to pick her up for Prom.

He was quite honestly lost for words.

She was so, so beautiful it made his chest hurt. (He hoped he wasn't developing heart disease or something.)

That wasn't to say that she wasn't beautiful normally, of course she was! (Even that time when he'd memorably spilt almost half a kilo of flour on her. She'd been so sweet about it...)

Hazel was _amazing._

He was so, so fortunate that she'd chosen him.

'Wow...uh...you look really, really beautiful. I mean, not that you don't normally, but...wow.'

Yeah, being smooth wasn't his strong suit. He was pretty sure that he was blushing rather ferociously.

Hazel smiled and fanned her face.

'Thank you, Frank.' Her smile grew wider. 'You look very handsome yourself, maybe even more than usual.'

Her gold eyes were twinkling. Frank positively grinned.

Cheeks pink, he opened the corsage box and tied it around her wrist. A little pink herself, she stretched up to kiss him on the cheek in thanks.

Hands entwined, they watched as Will greeted Nico. Both boys had bought buttonholes to give each other.

Hazel squeezed his hand.

'They're so cute.'

He squeezed back.

'So are you.'

He winced.

'Oh gods, did I really just say that out loud? That was really, really cheesy...Can I just go and die of embarrassment now?'

Hazel was trying very hard not to laugh, but she smiled up at him anyway.

'It was really sweet, Frank...Your reaction, though, was hilarious.'

Gods, he loved her.

* * *

Emily, Esperanza and Sally all sat in the Jackson/Blofis living room, looking at the photos they'd taken earlier in that same room while their children were all at Prom.

Currently, the screen showed a photo of all of the girls together, Piper in a peacock-inspired dress, a peacock feather in her hair, Annabeth in a blue knee-length dress with spaghetti straps, Reyna in a rich purple gown that made her look like a queen, complete with a gold wreath around her head, and Calypso in a red Grecian-style dress, with Hazel in an adorable cream dress.

The three women smiled at each other.

'The looks on those boys' faces...'

'Well, except for Nico and Will, because they were too busy staring at each other!'

'Sally, you have been spending too much time with my mijo! You sound just like him!'

Emily and Esperanza exchanged a conspiratorial glance over Sally's head.

'Any bets on who's the first wedding will be?'

'And first child, blood or adopted?'


End file.
